 |
|
| Volume 25 Number 4 April 2023 |
Page 14 |
|
|
| Volume 25 Number 4 April 2023 |
Page 14 |
David Myers
In my years of watching the Olympics, I’ve never seen overweight businessmen running around the track to win a medal. Only the determined athlete who has trained and matured in his or her field of sport has an opportunity to win the prize for his or her country.
Eric Liddell illustrated this principle in the film Chariots of Fire. If you remember, just before the first turn in a 400-meter race, Eric was shoved off balance, and he stumbled onto the infield grass. When he looked up, he saw the others pulling away. With a look of intense determination, he jumped up. With his head cocked back and his arms flailing, he rushed ahead. He was determined not only to catch up with the pack but to win the race, and he did. As a young man, I remember seeing that film and that scene for the first time; it was truly inspiring.
Let me ask you a question. Are you determined to win the race? In Paul’s life, he was determined to progress in his spiritual development as a minister and to never stop running the race. We should have this same fervor in our Christian lives as the Lord’s disciples. In 1 Corinthians 9:24 he said, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it” (NKJV). Paul saw himself as being like an Olympian athlete who competes for a gold medal, straining every muscle in his body to get to the finish line. The prize will be “an imperishable crown” (v. 25). Be a victorious Christian today. Progress in your Christian vocation and run the race to win!
That’s what matters most! Fix your eyes on Jesus, press toward the goal, and trust in His amazing grace – and you will win the prize!
God’s Will and Man’s Will
Terry Wheeler
God has His plans for His creation. Part of that is man’s freewill in accommodating God’s will.
Why would God want us to be free in our determinations? We are to experience, appreciate and share God’s love, and you have to be free to be able to do that (God’s determination). This is to draw us toward God as He really is and show ourselves as, not just His creation, but His legitimate and intimate family. We will spend eternity at home with God because we choose to reside in Heaven with God (again, His determination). After all, love cannot be forced, and God does not want us with Him if we do not want to be there.
So, what many consider some grand mystery is really not that mysterious at all. Yes, God controls all according to His will. Yes, God rules over all to accommodate His grand design, but you are a part of that design in order to glorify Him (the reason for which God created humans, John 3:35; Colossians 1:16). Therefore, He made you in His likeness that you might willingly choose to be a part of His purpose (Ephesians 1:17-21). This cannot be forced. On the other hand, though we may reject our part in God’s love, He will make sure the love still wins, even if that means love wins to our loss (Philippians 2:11).
[Editor’s Note: “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. …And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:8, 16 NKJV). God loved mankind when men were not lovable (Romans 5:8), and yet, He offers an eternity in Heaven with Him for those who demonstrate their genuine love toward Him. ~ Louis Rushmore, Editor]