1 Corinthians 9:24- 24 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.
1 Corinthians 9:27 – 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
Philippians 3:14 – 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Colossians 2:18 – 18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.
I think we forget about the prize. We’re taught that salvation is the only prize and it’s free and there is nothing you can do to earn it. That’s true, salvation is a free gift and there is nothing you can do to earn it. However, that’s not the prize Paul’s referring to. The Lord wants to reward each and every one of us based on how much love we show him.
We need to run the race as hold onto our reward. The last verse below refers to being saved but losing the reward.
1 Corinthians 3:10-15 – 10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
If we deny our own selfish wants and serve God based on His Word and Truth, we are running the race correctly. Then we can work in the area that He has called us.