The Commonwealth Games of 2018 are nearly over. All the efforts of training, the expectation of the competition, the joys of winning and disappointments of missing out, are all over for this time. We watched some of the competitions, and felt the disappointment of seeing one poor competitor in the marathon race get so near the finishing line in the winning place, only to collapse just short of getting there. He had made such a good start, and kept his pace and place until nearly the end, only to miss out.

I couldn’t help thinking of those verses that Paul wrote to Timothy reminding him that it is only those who get crowned  who get to the end having gone all the way according to the rules. It didn’t matter that this poor competitor had collapsed due to dehydration and subsequent weakness, he had failed to keep to the rules, so he missed out. We too, have rules to keep to in our lives….not only in our physical lives, but also in our spiritual lives.

You didn’t know there was a spiritual life that we each one have? What does it matter you might ask? It makes all the difference between eternal life  in peace and joy and eternal life in misery and torment. The young man competing in the games sincerely thought he had done sufficient training, but he had forgotten one fact….he would be running in a heat and climate very different to what he was used to, and that he would need to keep his supply of drinking water up. He couldn’t make it.

So many people say they don’t believe in all that stuff, but what a person believes doesn’t alter the facts that God lays down. I was in an airport waiting for my flight one time and heard of an American lady who thought she was going Oakland in California, but due to the difference in accents, she was in fact getting on a plane to Auckland, New Zealand. She sincerely thought she was on the right plane, but she was sincerely wrong. Sincerity isn’t always what gets us to the right destination, it must be sincerity coupled with facts.

So even if you sincerely believe that there is nothing after death, that your life will just be snuffed out into oblivion, you had better make sure that your sincerity is coupled with facts. Where are the facts about a spiritual life found? In the Book written by the author of spiritual life, our handbook for life, the Bible. This is the only place we can find out the facts to base our choices and decisions on. So find the facts and then make a sincere and informed choice!