Teen Camp Talk

Run for Jesus: Comparing running with the Christian life

Good evening! My name is Catherine, and I am 18 years old. Before I begin, I want to know how many of you are involved in sports??? Oh good, because tonight I am going to be comparing my favorite sport of running with the Christian life. But really, any sport or athletic competition can apply to this talk. I am really hoping that this challenges you to not only say you are a Christian, but to really live it so others can see it.

Before I start talking about what I want to say to you tonight, I want to give you a little background about how I became so enthusiastic about running! A few years ago, I struggled with an eating disorder. You will hear more about this when I give my testimony on Thursday night. Running was a main way for me to lose weight.

However, as I ran more and started liking it more, I found that I had such a desire to be the best runner I could ever be. Running was a way for me to overcome my eating disorder. Instead of being totally consumed with how skinny I was, all I wanted was to be a better runner.

I have been running for 4 years. I have completed many races and even ran on my team in high school. Since I love running so much, I decided to see what the Bible had to say about it. I found that the word “run” or “running” or “race” is used over 130 times throughout the whole Bible. I am convinced that God really likes running!

Tonight, I am going to be using 4 different passages of scripture that talk about running in likeness of the life of a Christian. The first passage is 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. This is my favorite Bible verse, and I have claimed it as my “life verse.” It says…

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Every athlete that competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it to get an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step; I am not just beating the air. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself will be disqualified.”

Okay, I know this is a long passage, so I want to break it down section by section. The first part I want to look at is verse 24 where Paul says, “run in such a way as to get the prize.” The prize for a runner, or any athlete, is a medal or a trophy. The prize in the Christian life is Jesus Christ. Just as an athlete runs his fastest and hardest for the first place prize, so we as Christians should be seeking after Christ with all that we have.

The second part of this passage talks about a prize that will last forever. For an athlete, the prize that you win will soon waste away. The medal will rust, the trophy will be put into storage, and the writing on a certificate will eventually not be readable. But as Christians, our eternal prize is heaven, which is something that never goes away.

The third part of this passage says to run with purpose in every step. I believe that our purpose in the race of our Christian faith is to glorify Christ. Every step that a runner takes gets him one step closer to the finish line. Every day that we live on earth should be another day to give glory to God.

Finally, verse 27 talks about training your body so that you will not be disqualified for the prize. This part of the passage was a little bit harder for me to think about a comparison. But I think that it could be compared to how we live our life as an example for others. Paul says that if he did not train his body, after preaching he would be disqualified. If a runner does not train for his race in the right way, he will not be able to finish the race, thus not able to win the prize. If we as Christians are speaking the message of Christ and telling others about him, but not living like we are Christians, then we will not be effective in trying to win others to Christ. How we live our life is just as important as the words we use when trying to help others become a Christian.

The next verse that I want to look at talks about getting rid of these things that can lead others away from Christ. Hebrews 12:1 says…

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”

The part of this verse that I want to focus on is where is says “strip off every weight that slows us down.” In the Christian faith, this “weight” is different for every person. Every individual person has their own set of temptations. In order to run this race of faith, what I have to overcome might be totally different than what Thomas has to resist: and what Thomas has to deal with might be something that is never a problem for me. But they are still struggles and they are still hard.

Something I want to do right now is give examples from running or any other sport to show how the disciplines that you do when in training or in competition are similar to the Christian life. First of all, whenever I am training for a race, sometimes I have to wake up an hour earlier in order to get my workout in for the day. The Psalms talk a lot about praising and spending time with God in the morning. If you know you are going to have a busy day, get up 30 minutes earlier in order to spend time with God. And, if you are too busy to spend time with Him, then you are busier than you should be.

Another part of proper athletic training is taking care of your body. In order to keep your physical body is the best shape, there are some foods that you just cannot eat. Giving up ice cream, cookies, candy, and soda and eating lots of good carbohydrates, meats, fruits and vegetables helps your body to perform at its very best. Also, when in training, your body is going to need extra rest. For some people, this might mean coming home early from a bonfire with friends or not going to that sleepover because you have an athletic event later that day. As Christians, we are called to be “in the world but of the world.” This means abstaining from any and all activities that will cause us to be ineffective in sharing the gospel. Things like swearing, drugs, sex, and drinking can not only be harmful to our physical body, but can also keep us from leading others to Christ. Another part of resting in your Christian life is taking time to be with God. Reading the Bible, praying, and listening to what the Lord has to say are great ways to get a rest from the world. All this goes back to the main purpose of this talk: to not just say that you are a Christian, but to really live it so others will know!

Finally, the harder you work your body, the higher the chance is that you are going to get injured. I started running the summer after my 1^st year in high school. Since then, I have had three times when my foot has been fractured. This causes enormous pain, and usually I am not able to run or do any kind of physical activity for at least 2 months. For a Christian, the more you seek after Christ and the more you tell others about him, the more the devil is going to attack you. Satan attacks in many different ways. I have seen this multiple times in my own life. Sometimes it is negative thoughts that are in my head that I know are not true, like “you are not good enough; you will never be worth anything; no body loves you; no body wants to hear what you have to say.” Or sometimes it is physical, like getting sick or always feeling tired. Now, sickness is not always Satan’s fault, but he can use it to keep you from being effective in sharing the gospel. Just like resting will heal a broken bone, in order to defeat the attacks of the devil, you need to be with Christ and surrounding yourself with prayer.

The third verse I want to look at is Isaiah 40:31. It says…

“Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in stumble and fall. But those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings of eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint.”

I am not going to talk about this passage too much because I already mentioned resting in the Lord. But when you compare this to running or any sport, usually a runner does not run every day of the week. I know for me, I always take one day off to let my body rest and my muscles heal. For a Christian, our one day to rest was given to us back in the Old Testament. The fourth commandment in Exodus tells us to “honor the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” This is the Lord’s day. It is a day for us to take extended time to think about Him and get more strength for the rest of the week from Him.

The verse that I want to end with is found in 2^nd Timothy 4:7. This verse is part of Paul’s final words when he is writing to Timothy. Paul says…

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have kept the faith.”

This verse is what I long to say before I die. I want to be just about to breath my last breath and know that I remained faithful to the Lord in everything that I did. I want to finish this race of life with excellence. I hope that is something that you also long for.

The challenge I want to leave you with this morning is the very purpose of this talk: to not just say that you’re a Christian, but to really live it in every area of your life. Christ should be so evident in your life that people can see you faith and you don’t even have to open your mouth. Let you actions truly speak louder than words.