Survivor

I help run an Intermediate Youth Group, and tonight we're having a Survivor theme night. Here is the talk I wrote for it:

The Christian life is a lot like survivor.

In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Paul says: 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. Everyone who competes in the (Olympic) games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

When Paul was younger, he had been an enemy of the Christians, hunting them down and killing them for a living. But God reached out of heaven, and let Paul know how real he was, and turned him around to help God instead. God promised Paul a great reward when his life was over, and he promises the same reward to everyone who believes in him.

So, what did Paul do? Did he sit around and watch TV saying "Yep, God is coming back real soon. I'll just enjoy myself and eat some potato chips while I wait"? No, he says that he "beats his body", or in other words, he takes charge of it, and he starts doing all he can for God. There is a verse that says, "Whatever you do, do it as if you were doing it for God" and this is what Paul does. He lives his life 100% for God. Thats where the Survivor metaphor comes in. He makes the comparison to olympic athletes. Whats an olympic sport? Well, if you want to be an olympic class athlete at that sport, you have to focus on it all the time. It takes years of training, and those who are the best are completely devoted to doing everything to be as good as they can be.

Well, Paul says it is the same when you are a Christian. In fact, he says that the olympic athletes compete "to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forver."

What Paul is saying there is that even though the olympic athletes may get a bit of glory for a while, and a cool gold medal to hang on their wall, what we get if we stick with God will never be lost. Who won the 100m at the Berlin Olympics? Who won the freestyle swimming at Moscow? Unless you are an historian, or someone who has researched this, you probably won't know. But, God promises that everyone who follows him, and gives their all for him, will never be forgotten. Their names will be written in God's Book of Life, and will never be erased.

I know a lot of Christians who gave up walking with God, and now live just like everyone else in the world. God loves them just as much as he loves you, and he always will, but if they don't finish the race, if they don't survive, they will never get the crown waiting for them.

Don't let yourself be voted off in the journey of life. Stick with it, do your best, and get that prize!