Washington Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

By Doug Bing, Washington Conference president

Two years ago I ran in my first 5K. It was one of those color runs that as you navigate the course of the race they throw different colors of dye at you. By the end of the race you are covered with all sorts of bright colors.

It was a fun time with family and great exercise. It really took very little preparation. We just signed up and went. At the end we were given a medal on a ribbon.

For one brief moment I imagined that I was an Olympian standing on the podium and the national anthem was playing. But then I snapped to reality and realized that everyone had received the same medal and we were all the same and were all in need of a shower to wash the dye from our clothes and skin.

This is much different than the currently happening Olympics where people who are accepted into the competition have trained for years to be able to attend and compete. They are highly specialized in the sports they play. If they do make it to the winners podium, it happened with lots of effort.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 compares the life of the Christian to that of an Olympian. But here it paints a picture of Christians that have a race to run no doubt. They have a crown to win as well.  But the crown is one that will last forever (vs 25) and everyone is running with a purpose (vs 26). 

The way it is like the color run, however, is that everyone who completes the race gets the crown.

Friends, please take a moment today and commit to the race. Jesus will run with you and keep you company on the journey.  You will be running with a family that has the same goal in mind. The national anthem of heaven will be played. Jesus has prepared a place for you. I pray that you accept His gift.