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 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.

The Apostle Paul had just finished writing about his willingness to enter other people’s worlds to win as many people as possible to Christ: “I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.” Paul understood that the greatest prize in life has to do with winning people to Christ.

There is great reward when we run the race of life with an eye on what matters to God and eternity. Winning people to Christ involves the kind of strict life training that is committed to knowing God intimately enough to introduce others to Him. There is a crowning reward for those who live for God and bring others into a relationship with Jesus.

The passion of my life is to bring as many people as possible into a personal relationship with Jesus. Every person on the planet was created to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. People spend a lifetime searching for what will satisfy them and yet they never find it until they come to Jesus.

I am inspired to run in such a way to win the eternal prize. Jesus called us to make disciples of all nations. So we strongly support ongoing discipleship and foreign missions that share the gospel in other countries. I also realize that here in Seattle, the world has come to us. I live within a mile of the most ethnically diverse area in the state of Washington. We have a Spanish-speaking church that we share our church building with. It is so important to keep reaching out to the multitude of cultures that are in our community. I want to become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I need to listen carefully to my Lord each day to know how He wants me to do that.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding me to live in the light of eternity. Help me, Lord Jesus, to run in such a way to win many to Christ. I want my life to count for You. Fill me with your Holy Spirit and open doors for me to share with others the greatest and most important message in the history of mankind. Help me to surrender my time, my schedule and my heart to what You want me to do these days to win others to Christ and disciple them effectively.