THE DISCIPLE’S RACE

Last week I registered my family to run a 5K race in early 2022. Now, I understand that for some of you that may be reading this, that doesn’t sound like a huge ordeal. But for someone who hasn’t ran in over ten years, this is going to be a major challenge. The biggest challenge will be trying to find the motivation to make myself start running again. Another challenge will be that I am 10 years older now, which means my body is 10 years older as well and it simply doesn’t recover the same as it once did. But, the one thing that will make it easier is that I will be running this race with my wife and daughter. Running this race together will bring motivation to all of us, it will bring encouragement as we train together because we are doing it together. Our goal is to just have fun and finish together.

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2, NKJV

When I read these verses, the first thing I think of is standing in the middle of an Olympic stadium packed with the roar of 60,000 people. The writer says “we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses.” Some believe the great “cloud of witnesses” refers to the saints described in Hebrews 11. I personally think that the “witnesses” that we are surrounded by are the saints that have gone on before us. However, another way to look at this is that these witnesses embody the onlooking world. The spectators that fill the stadium, watching the Church and her deeds. I like this interpretation because the world is watching Jesus’ disciples and what is your life showing the world about Christ?

The writer continues by saying we are to “lay aside every weight and sin that so easily ensnares us and let us run with endurance…” We are not to focus on our circumstances; do not focus on problems, sin, limitations, or weaknesses. Focus on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith.

Have you fallen into the trap of focusing on our circumstances? There are so many influences competing for our attention that it becomes difficult to keep our eyes on Jesus. So, I want to train and run this race by keeping my eyes on the finish line, that is my motivation just like Jesus is my goal and motivation as a Christian walking in this world. My desire, although I fall short of this daily, is to keep my eyes focused on Jesus, the author and perfecter of my faith.

QUESTIONS FOR THOUGHT:

1. Do you often focus more on what you cannot do rather than what you can do?
2. What are the things that often compete for your attention?

FURTHER WORKOUT:

Proverbs 4:24; Colossians 3:1-2

IN THE ARENA BOOK REVIEW

IN THE ARENA: THE PROMISE OF SPORTS FOR CHRISTIAN DISCIPLESHIP

I love sports and although my sports career flamed out in high school (if we could even call it a career), I still enjoy finding ways to be around the athletic world. Growing up my favorite sport to play was baseball, but I also enjoyed other sports like basketball, tennis, golf, cross country and track. Now days I enjoy playing in an adult kickball league and coaching my daughters YMCA soccer team. I am grateful for all those years playing sports because it helped me to work through failure and disappointment, especially as a bench warmer. Although I benefited from playings sports on one level, on another level I realized at times how quickly I “worshiped” sports. There were times that I put more effort into my brief athletic career than I did my relationship with Jesus Christ.

As a teenager, I didn’t realize that I could love God and love sports at the same time. I had one person tell me one time that it was a sin for Christians to play sports because it wasn’t pleasing to God. Sadly, I let what that person affect the way I approached sports and God. I saw that I got more out of playing sports than I did ever attending church. Don’t get me wrong, I still attended church, but that was about the extent of my relationship with God. Now, as a parent I absolutely love watching my daughter play sports. She loves playing soccer. I have students in my ministry that love playing sports. That is why I appreciate the valuable insights and wisdom that comes from David E. Prince in his latest book, In The Arena.

Prince, assistant professor of Christian preaching at Southern Seminary and senior pastor of Ashland Avenue Baptist Church in Lexington, draws from his personal experience playing sports and cultivating a love of competition in his eight children. Inspired by Theodore Roosevelt’s classic quote from his “Citizenship in a Republic” speech — in which the president describes the valiant efforts of “the man who is actually in the arena” — Prince models a critical engagement with sports that promotes Christian discipleship and character.

“God kindly provides us the windows of smaller arenas where we can be challenged to demonstrate the virtues necessary for faithfulness in the ultimate venue of our lives before God, our Creator and Sustainer,” Prince writes. “Athletic competition provides practice games for life, whether experienced by participation or observation, but to benefit fully, we must be intentional about the lessons it can teach us.”

Craig Sanders thoughts on this book are spot on: “Among those issues is an understanding of sports fandom that, rather than demonizing those who rabidly cheer on their favorite teams, seeks to understand the cultural rootedness of particular sports and how Christians can engage and enlighten those identities with the gospel. In the book’s opening chapter, Prince also confronts those who dismiss sports with a surprising but convincing argument that athletic competition is an inevitable reaction to God’s creation.”

Prince provides a helpful analysis on sports and spiritual warfare, demonstrating how as athletes and fans we can learn to endure trials and keep from worshiping sports but rather Creator God. But the most crucial chapter of the book to me is, “Sports and Christian Discipleship.” In this chapter he explores how sports merely expose character and that parents must seize these revealing moments of competition for the purpose of building godly character.

“Sports do not build character. They dramatically expose character and provide parents and coaches with a valuable opportunity to develop Christian character.”

“Whether we are protecting the Lord’s Day to prioritize worship with the local church, having conversations with our children to help them think rightly before and after competitions, or guiding them through the disappointment of bench-warming, Christian parents must lead with intentionality in every area of our children’s involvement in sports.”

In the chapter on discipleship, Prince provides a list of questions parents must ask their children before and after each game, and also instructs parents on how to be supportive during the game. His pastoral application in each chapter and his call for the churches to be strategic in their relationship to sports display a sincerity and thoughtfulness that no one has yet to apply to this realm of cultural awareness.

If you are a parent, coach, pastor, and you work with or have students who play sports, this book is a must read for you. I wish this book had been written years ago, but I am thankful to have it now. You will be blessed and transformed by reading this book.

In the Arena: The Promise of Sports for Christian Discipleship (B&H 2016, $16.99), David E. Prince