Endure and Win

Winning is one of those things that is up for debate in society. I happen to be of the camp that there are winners and there are those that did not win. In the Olympics, there is competition to see who the best is (Gold, Silver, Bronze). In college athletics, there is a “National Champion”. In band there are “State Champions” and “Sweepstakes” winners. In One Act Play, there are champions. In debate there are winners.

To become a winner requires hard work, determination, drive, and oh yeah, you have to follow the rules. You have to endure the pain of workouts, practice, and study to achieve greatness, and even then the results may not immediately be in your favor so you work harder and smarter and study more.

“⁴No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuit, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. ⁵An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the firs share of the crops.” – 2 Timothy 2:4-6 (ESV)

Paul writes to Timothy and encourages him to continue to pursue pure motives. Put in the work and he will win.

Now I do want to talk about those that win through ill-gotten pursuits. The cheaters of the world, those taking short cuts, and those stamping on others to get ahead. In society they appear to win, until they are caught and stripped of their gold medal, thrown in jail for tax evasion, vilified in the media for their less than virtuous approach. These are those that did not follow Christ in their pursuits and in the short run were declared winners only to display their true colors when the light was shined on the indiscretions.

“¹⁰Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. ¹¹The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; ¹²if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; ¹³if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.” – 2 Timothy 2:10-13 (ESV)

There is a lot going on in the above verses, however I want to draw attention to verse 10 and 12a. Paul declares that endurance gives us ultimate victory. “Eternal glory” and “reign with him” are our prize for winning with Christ. We should be pursuing spiritual wins and compete, live, and drive for obeying God at every turn. When we do, we will win ultimately in heaven.

Are you caught up trying to “win” here on earth? Have you taken short cuts thinking that somehow you will win the prize? Are you willing to endure and win with Christ?