Athletes are people who will wake up at dawn to go for a run when it’s 20 degrees outside.
Athletes will pass up chocolate cake and reach for a protein bar instead.
When athletes fall, they grit their teeth, wipe the blood off their skinned knees, get up, and do it all over again.
Sound familiar? Then you must be a disciplined, dedicated athlete. You know that in order to excel in any sport, you have to make sacrifices and follow a strict training regimen. You eat certain foods and avoid certain others, and you set aside hours each day for practice and training. Often you’re rewarded for your sacrifices: you make more goals, shave seconds off your fastest time, jump higher, throw farther, hit harder…
All those things are great—while they last. The Bible says, “Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable”(1 Corinthians 9:25). This means that the glory and satisfaction you receive from winning a game or a race is temporary. Trophies and medals have no eternal value. The Bible stresses a much higher goal—that of spending eternity in Heaven.
Some people try to reach Heaven the way an athlete trains for a big game or race. They think that by following a set of guidelines, by living a certain way, God will reward them with eternal life. But the Bible tells us, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). That means that people can never reach Heaven based on their own merit—and no one ever will. No matter how disciplined we are, no matter how hard we try, we can never make up for all of our sins.
Fortunately, we don’t have to—God has already paid the price of our sins for us. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). God’s Son, Jesus, was the only Person who ever lived a sinless life. That’s because Jesus Christ was at once man and God, walking among people but never giving in to the temptations that we succumb to every day. He made the ultimate sacrifice for us—He gave Himself up to be beaten and nailed to a cross, where He hung until He died. In doing this, Jesus bore our sins as our substitute. Three days later, God raised Him to life again, and He lives now in Heaven. His death is the key to our eternal life.
Even though following a set of rules does not grant salvation in itself, God has given us standards by which He wants us to live. Part of giving your life over to Christ involves turning from your sins and striving to be as much like Him as possible. Discipline is a big part of this. The Bible says self-control is one of the fruits of the Spirit—these are characteristics that we can develop when we invite the Holy Spirit to work in us (see Galatians 5:22-23). So when you become a Christian, and you grow in your relationship with Jesus, He will help you grow in self-control.
While maintaining a disciplined Christian life is a personal responsibility, this does not mean that you’re on your own. Look to fellow Christians as teammates. They’ll pray for you and give you support and encouragement in your journey of faith. Think of God as your coach. He’ll give you the strength you need to stay disciplined, He’ll push you forward when you think you cannot possibly go farther, and He’ll enable you to do things you never thought you could.
Will you accept the challenge? All that is left for you to do is this: “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). You can do this by saying a short prayer from your heart, asking forgiveness for your sins and confessing Jesus as your Savior. You’ll be amazed at how many hurdles you can jump in life by drawing on the strength of Jesus Christ.