"Do you not know that in a race all runners run, but only one receives a prize? So, run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So, I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I should be disqualified." 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
In one passage, Paul shows the difference between his ministry and Christ's. Christ talked about rural life. The farm, the flock, the people in the country working for the master's vineyard, and those kinds of topics fill His parables and comparisons. Paul talks urban. He talks about the world at that time in topics they understand, and certainly they understood the Olympics. Running, fighting, training and discipline are the focus of this passage. Not for an earthly prize, mind you, but an eternal prize. So his analogy of faith and salvation and training and endurance (repeated in other passages). Sports is life in leadership analogies, a topic I found often, and I found them useful.
This year, we are treated to Super Bowl LV (50). The match up presents us with a potential match-up of two greats. You know the names by now: Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes. Both will be on full display, and both capture the imaginations of fans and non-fans alike. Both exhibit excellence on the field. Both display a certain measure of confidence not betrayed by arrogance. As a fan of the game, and as a fan of Mahomes, I feel confident when he takes the helm. So also with Brady though. He's been here before, at Mahomes age in fact. Now 18 years his senior, he's been around the field a few times. The potential of this match up has people already talking about greatness.
Will Mahomes take the baton of greatness from Brady in this match? It won't be handed off. It will be taken in the arena, both men's faces "marred by dust and sweat and blood.... who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions... who at the best knows in the end the triumph of great achievement...." (Teddy Roosevelt, "Man in the Arena," Paris, 1910).
ESPN has said Brady's greatness is the greatness of a lifetime, while Mahomes' greatness is that of his current generation. Certainly, Brady by age (43), could technically be the father of half the players he faces these days, but the level of fearlessness exhibited by both is equal. Mahomes, 25, may still be playing by 43, but to put that in perspective, that means he's playing through the year 2039 (really, 2040 since Brady will be back next year). He's got to get to at least 10 Super Bowls (Brady's current number) and win a chunk of them (Brady currently at six). Hence the idea of lifetime and current generation.
In short, I can't wait. I love me some Mahomes (yes, I said that right). I respect Brady.
How does this compare to our faith life as men? As Paul notes, "run this race" (the race of life) to "obtain the prize." Not an earthly prize, but an imperishable prize. We can exhibit the same level of excellence in our faith life Paul describes: "not running aimlessly... not boxing as one beating air... but with discipline and control...." Fortunately, when we "fail, we fail greatly." (Roosevelt) Yet in our weakness, God is strong by sending His Son Jesus Christ to overcome this failure, so we too may wear the eternal prize of eternal life in Christ.
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