“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?” – 1 Corinthians 9:24

We’re All in the Race

We’ve all seen games where we didn’t think either team deserved to lose. One of the most classic hockey playoff match-ups occurred in 2009 when the Capitals and Penguins faced off. Two young superstars in Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby put their talents on display and did not disappoint. Crosby finished with 13 points (8 goals and 5 assists) while Ovechkin finished with 14 points (8 goals and 6 assists) in a grueling 7 game series that saw Pittsburgh advance in Game seven 6-2. The Penguins would go to win the Stanley Cup Finals over Detroit in seven games and bring the championship home to Pittsburgh. 

Every sport has its memorable games, hard-fought contests that are decided late in extra innings, on a missed field goal as time is running out or on a 3-point buzzer-beater. Even in such competitions as swimming or track and field, athletes have lost the race by hundredths of a second. But as Scripture in Corinthians tells us, in sporting events, only one competitor gets the prize.

Fortunately that’s not true in the spiritual world. Following the Lord isn’t a race that only one person can win. Jesus died for all of us, and our only competition should be to see how many others we can “win” for Christ.

— Lois Thomson

If you would like to submit a reader devotional, please email all submissions to jason@sportsspectrum.com