“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.” (1 Corinthians 9:24 NIV84)

We’ve certainly heard a lot of philosophizing in our society today about “living with a purpose.” The question always becomes, what purpose? Many self-help books have been written about discovering your purpose and fulfilling your life’s purpose. Even in Christian circles we have been pushed to have purpose-driven lives and churches. In the midst of all that thought and discussion, Paul’s words in our text today are important to consider. Paul tells us to remember that everybody is running. The question is, what are they running for and toward? In a race, only one gets the prize — the one who understands where the finish line is and who has trained hard to get there. The rest run in vain.

No matter what our occupation/vocation might be, we all run the same race and have the same purpose. We are called to live as members of the kingdom of God. We are to see heaven as our finish line. We are called to be intimately connected to God’s kingdom through word and prayer so we might be certain that our training and running are not in vain. Our lives must be directly connected to God’s kingdom so that our daily lives are seasoned with God’s calling on our lives.

Today, and always, may we live with a kingdom-of-heaven purpose.

Peace!

Pastor Tom

www.firmlyrooted.church