WandOlympics Devotion

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

INTRODUCTION

Lindsey Vonn is probably the most famous female olympic skier. She has 3 olympic medals (2 bronze and 1 gold) as well as 4 world cups. In 2010 at the age of 25, she became the first American woman to win the Olympic downhill ski race. In 2018 at the age of 33, she became the oldest woman to win an Olympic medal in Alpine skiing. As much as she is known for her victories, she is also just as famous for her injuries. In fact, she has more major injuries, than she does Olympic medals. Her injuries include a torn ACL in 2013, a broken leg in 2016, she retired in 2019 because of knee pain, and in 2024 she had to have surgery on that knee. After that surgery, she decided she could get back into competitive skiing so she started training for these Winter Olympics at the age of 41. While training for these Olympics, she crashed on her skis and tore her ACL on January 30th, just one week before the opening night of the Olympics. Even though she will likely need surgery to repair her knee, she still plans on competing in these Olympic games. I don’t know about y’all, but if I stub my toe in the morning I want to call of out work, so I have no doubt a torn ACL would keep me from doing any sort of physical activity. But not Lindsey, she has years of discipline and dedication to physical training to keep her going even through what would be a career ending injury for some. The Apostle Paul is also familiar with discipline and physical training, listen to what he says in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27.

DEVOTION

The race that Paul is referring to is the part of the Isthmian Games. The Isthmian Games rivaled the Olympic Games, and were the preferred games for those living in Corinth. Paul knew the admiration the Corinthians had for these athletes. Paul compares the training and discipline of these athletes to the training and discipline for Christ followers. Paul said that these athletes train hard for a perishable crown. During this time, the victor recieved a crown, usually made of pine or leaves. Eventually, those leaves would crumble and die, leaving the victor with nothing. But for Christians, we get an imperishable crown, a prize that won’t ever wither away, and that is everlasting life with Jesus. And Paul goes on to say that everything he does is with purpose, and that purpose is the Gospel. Paul disciplined himself to keep away from sinful desires so when he preaches, he doesn’t disqualify himself. I think a better translation for disqualified is unproved. Essentially, Paul practiced what he preached.

So let’s think through how we can apply this to our lives today. For us, lets think like athletes. What motivates athletes to train so hard. A goal. They have a goal in mind, a goal they want to achieve. So lets think, what are some goals that youth have. Being the smartest, the funniest, the coolest, the most stylish, has the latest tech. Some of these goals are fine to achieve, but what do they have in common? These are perishable goals. Somewhere along the way, you won’t be the smartest, or the funniest, and that’s okay. These goals are not meant to last. The Super Bowl is this Sunday. These 2 teams have been training their whole lives for this moment. To play in the biggest football game ever, and to be crowned world champions. As exciting as it is in that moment, eventually, it wears off. Does anyone know who won 10 years ago? What about 5 years ago? See, even the Super Bowl is perishable. Did y’all know I used to be an athlete? I played almost 10 years in little league, and one year, I set a single season record. Most hit by pitches. I had such a high on base percentage because I was too slow to move out of the way. I guarantee you, no one remembers record.

When we think through goals, think of these as side quests, they aren’t all bad, but not the main thing. There truly is only one goal for us as Christians. That’s to know God and make Him known. That’s our goal, that is what we should be motivated to achieve. It’s what motivated Paul. It’s what Jesus commands in the Great Commission. So now we know our goal, the next step is to train.

Lets break it down, our goal has 2 parts, the first is to Know God. What is the best way to know God? By reading His Word. God has revealed Himself to us in Scripture. Get as familiar with Scripture as possible. Think of your dedication to the Bible as a grip. The first finger is hear, so if you just hear Scripture every once in a while, it’s easy to take away, here try. The second finger in the grip is read. So now you hear and read, try now. The third finger is study, try now. The fourth finger is memorize, try now. The fifth finger is meditate, this is where you take Scripture, and pray it to God, asking Him to help you make it part of your life. Now try. See, with each finger, it was harder to take this away from me. If we apply this method to Scripture, then it will be harder for us to get distracted from our goal.

The second part is make Him known. This is a bit tougher, because for some of us, getting the words right and the courage to share the Gospel is intimidating. We need to use our knowledge of Scripture to help us articulate the Gospel well. In just a few chapters over in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, Paul articulates the Gospel for us. Being able to articulate the Gospel means understanding the Gospel. Understanding that we are all broken sinners in need of a savior, so God, sent Jesus, to live the perfect life that we couldn’t live, to die the death we deserve, to raise again three days later, defeating sin, defeating death, and who ever believes in him will no longer have an eternity experiencing God’s wrath, but will have an eternity experiencing God’s love. Remind yourself of this most important truth everyday, be comfortable saying this. Use pastors and parents to practice with, but practice sharing the Gospel.

We have our goal, we train for our goal, now, we achieve our goal. One thing about athletes, once they win, they don’t quit, they keep training so they can repeat their success, same goes for knowing God and making Him known. There will be times where you don’t have the write answers for someone, or you may miss Gospel sharing opportunities, but keep training. Don’t let this stop you from achieving the goal of telling others about Jesus. Keep pursing the goal to know God and make Him known. Lets pray.