The Goals and Ground Rules of the Competition

UV437/10,000 2 Timothy v 5 The goals and ground rules of the competition: “Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules.” St Paul exhorted the believers to display the dedication of a soldier, the discipline of an athlete and the diligence and patience of a farmer. An Olympic athlete trains daily for a minimum of four years in order to compete in an event that would last a few seconds and to win a trophy that will loose its luster in a short time. But, we compete for an eternal prize, of sharing in the glory of the Risen Lord. On His victory stand, there is no second or third place. We are all declared winners where formerly, we were sinners. We will not keep the rules unless we learn and observe them even daily while on training for the main event. The rules according to which we are to run the race of faith are all laid down clearly in the scriptures. Following these rules make us competent to fight and endure hardship as a soldier, to run with discipline as an athlete and to plant seeds and to nurture the seedlings till the time of harvest as a farmer. The athlete learns from a coach even as we learn from the Holy Spirit who is our pace setter. He tells us sometimes to slow down and sometimes to run faster. The soldier learns from and obeys the directions of the commanding officer. We learn from and obey Jesus who is our Commander- in -Chief. The farmer learns from experience and nature. We too learn from experience and nature. In the process,we develop qualities to compete, to endure, to fight, to plant and nurture , not just for the short run but for challenges over the long haul, too. We have opted out of the rat race of the world only to enter the faith race of the Word. A life of faith is not a life of ease. We should not just live laid back lives but work towards some trophy, whether spiritual, physical, mundane,literary,academic or artistic or else our intellectual, emotional and spiritual muscles will atrophy. The athlete strives for personal victory, the soldier for collective victory and the farmer for victory over the forces of nature. Hence, we too can strive for victory in different domains for whatever we do brings glory to the Lord as an athlete’s victory brings honour to a grateful nation that rewards him in return, a soldier contributes to securing national victory for which he is honoured and a farmer earns his living from the produce of the harvest, even as he feeds the hungry from the excess over his own needs of the crop. In this context, it is important the believer sets realistic but challenging goals for himself or herself in different areas of life: spiritual, physical health, finances, familial and professional. Achieving the goal will enable us to win a crown that we can then lay at the feet of Jesus. Prateep V Philip