In our family, the Olympics are something special to us. Every two years, we make time to be together and to watch as much of these special events as our schedules will allow. Many precious memories were made while watching the international spectacle.

It is absolutely amazing to consider the investment these young athletes make to master their sport and to get to the Olympics. Time, money, pain and countless other challenges need to be overcome in order to reach the competition. Already, in the first week of the Vancouver Games, we watched people demonstrate their skill and push through injury and competition to come forward with the gold medal. Their commitment, training and passion to succeed are evident in their performance.

The Apostle Paul wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians that, “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.” He and his readers understood the effort and commitment it took for the competitors to compete and to win. The need for focus and training were as clear to the Corinthians as they are to us. It was also clear was that all of that effort was expended to earn a crown, or medal, that doesn’t last.

Just like an athlete preparing for competition, we too, must prepare ourselves for the race that is set before us. While we do not compete for a medal, we, “do it to get a crown that will last forever.” You and I are enmeshed in a contest of eternal significance. Success in the race that we run does not come without an investment and commitment equal to any competitor. We need to discipline our lives in order to live a life worthy of the prize that is ours in Christ Jesus. One of the reasons we practice Christian disciplines is to help us bring our bodies and the whole of our lives into the place where we can live as Christ calls us to live; to live so that we will not, “be disqualified from the prize.”

Disciplines are not just about keeping tradition or sharing in a common experience, but they are meant to help us train our lives to live in Christ. When we surrender time, finances, even our very selves, we consciously make the choice to focus on Christ in our lives and to train our bodies to submit to our spirits. Self-denial is not pious asceticism; it is training, equal to that of an athlete, so that we win the gold, the medal that lasts forever.

Let’s not run aimlessly or merely beat the air. Instead, let us train our bodies and our lives to be the success that God made them to be. Let us allow Jesus Christ to coach, train, and equip us for all that He has designed for us. Let us make ourselves ready to run the race that is set before us, and run it in such a way as to win.