Living the Christian life

Eddie Arcaro, the famous jockey, said, “Horses are like people. Most of them will dog it and goof off if you let them get away with it. At least 70 percent of all race horses don’t want to win.” How true of life! Most people could do better if they really wanted to. Few set their hearts on excellence. Sure, we want to finish the race, but we really don’t care whether we finish third or in 13th place. What’s happened? Since when have we put a premium on mediocrity?

The Apostle Paul spoke of life as a race, and strangely enough his words sound quite a bit like Arcaro’s. “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?” (1 Corinthians 9:24). That’s somewhat of a backhanded reminder that real excellence lies not in finishing the race but in achieving your very best record. Paul then followed up his remark with the real punchline, “Run in such a way as to get the prize.”

If Paul were giving advice today, I believe he would say, “Amid the turmoil of our day, we can find God’s power to live above the sin that prevents our winning in the game of life.” Paul made it clear that the Christian life is not just trying to convince ourselves that life can be different, but it’s finding God’s power to live as He intends us to live.

When Christ called His disciples, He wasn’t concerned about their politics, affirmation of a creed or church membership. He knew that if they followed Him, they would find God’s strength to live different lives. Paul would tell us that we can win in the race of life – not by our cleverness, our ingenuity, or our brilliant strategy – but through the power of God’s Holy Spirit.