Over the last two weeks, approximately 3500 elite athletes representing 93 countries gathered from every corner of the globe to compete in the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in the beautiful Italian Alps. While the athletes compete in these sports, they must follow strict rules designed to ensure fair competition. But every year, it seems, there are disputes about the rules. This year, controversy has erupted over alleged infractions of the so-called “double touch” rule in curling. Athletes who are caught breaking rules during the Olympics can face immediate disqualification and may even be banned from the Olympics in the future. The International Olympic Committee is serious about the fact that athletes must compete according to the rules. In 2 Timothy 2:5, Paul uses the imagery of an athlete to make the point that we as Christians must abide by God’s rules. “An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.” Just like the athlete must know the rules and follow the rules, so we must know God’s rules and follow God’s rules. 

First, just like the men and women competing in the Olympians, we must know the rules. It would be foolish if an athlete broke the rules and then challenged his disqualification by claiming: “I didn’t know that was the rule!” Athletes are expected to know the rules of their sport. The responsibility lies on them to be informed of the rules to which they are accountable. Ignorance is not an excuse. Similarly, we are responsible for knowing the rules God has given us for how to live. You and I know that God has revealed himself to us and that he has communicated his will for how we ought to live and what kind of people we ought to become. On the last day, you and I will not be able to stand before God and defend our ungodly living by claiming “I didn’t know that was what you wanted me to do!” God has revealed his will for us; it is our obligation to read and understand his Word and live it out as best we can with the help of his Spirit inside us. Second, like the athletes in the Olympics, we must follow the rules. It would make no sense to know the rules but refuse to follow them. If a competitor demonstrated such a high-handed contempt for the rules, he or she would certainly be disqualified. Knowing the rules is crucial, but just knowing them is not enough. We have to humble ourselves and follow the rules. This week, remember that you are an athlete for Christ; know the rules, and follow the rules. In the race of life, compete according to the rules, and then you can look forward to the crown of victory that God will give you at the end of your race.

I’m thankful for the men and women in uniform who protect our country and keep us safe. Many of them do dangerous and often thankless jobs to protect us, and others train diligently to be ready at a moment’s notice to protect our country and her citizens from threats. They take orders and execute them efficiently, they undergo hard training and sometimes dangerous missions, and those who serve active deployments can find themselves in literal life-and-death conflicts. Turns out, there is a lot for us as Christians to learn from the job of a soldier. Like them, we as soldiers of Christ take our orders from our higher-ups, we suffer and do hard things, and we are engaged in a life-and-death struggle. In 2 Timothy 2:3-6, Paul uses three analogies to drive home one big idea: being a follower of Jesus requires self-denial, focus, and diligence. “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.” Much like the soldier, we as Christians have certain obligations and responsibilities that are our duty to faithfully carry out.

In the first place, we receive our orders from our higher-up, our Commanding Officer. It is not up to us to decide how to conduct ourselves or to decide what our mission is. Like a soldier, we receive orders and commands from our superior and we are expected to adhere to the mission and the standard operating procedures, as laid out in his instructions, the Bible. Second, much like soldiers must endure a grueling boot camp as well as other seasons of intense training, we too must be willing to suffer and do hard things for our Lord. Sometimes he leads us through seasons of difficulty that purify us and make us stronger in our faith. A soldier must go through training in order to become stronger so that he is ready for attack at any time. In the same way, if we face the challenges that lie in our path with God’s help, we can become stronger and more equipped to serve him in other seasons of life. Third, we as Christians—like soldiers—are engaged in a life-and-death struggle. Soldiers know that there is no place for complacency on the battlefield. That ought to be a lesson for us that there is no room for complacency in our Christian lives. If we let our guard down—even for a minute—we could expose ourselves to the attacks of the evil one. Fellow soldiers of Christ, remember that you have signed on as a soldier in the greatest army there ever was, the army of Christ. If we share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus, we will assuredly share in his victory, for our Commander cannot lose. 

In last week’s post, we considered the similarities between forgotten lunches of weeks and months gone by and the sermons, prayers, and Scriptures we listen to, pray, and read. We highlighted the fact that just because I don’t remember what I ate for lunch a year ago does not change the fact that that meal was important for me then and helped bring me to this point in my life. Similarly, even if I do not remember every sermon I heard, every prayer I prayed, and every Scripture I read in the last year, each one of those influences was still crucial for my spiritual nourishment and growth. 

Now consider another lesson we can learn from yesterday’s lunch. Have you ever heard someone say, “I ate lunch yesterday, so I don’t need to eat lunch again today”? Probably not! It would be ridiculous to conclude that since you had lunch yesterday, you don’t need to eat lunch again today! Yesterday’s lunch filled me and sustained me yesterday, but it cannot fill me or sustain me again today. Yesterday’s lunch was only good for yesterday, not for today. No one ever treats physical food this way, so isn’t it odd that we are tempted to treat the Bread of Life, the true food for our souls, in this way? Satan tempts us to think, I read my Bible yesterday, or I went to church on Sunday, so I don’t need to read it again today.” While it is of course true that yesterday’s or last Sunday’s Bible reading and worship do continue to benefit us today, it would be wrong to assume that since we ‘checked that box’ yesterday or the day before we are excused from needing time with God and his word again today. Instead, think of your time with God like your spiritual food for the day. You may have eaten lunch yesterday, but today is a new day, so you need to eat lunch again.

Let’s be like the Bereans whom we read about in Acts 17:10-11. “The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” These Jews were not content to just hear the word taught once a week on the Sabbath in their synagogue. May we, like them, be eager to study the Word of God daily. So this week, just remember that yesterday’s or last week’s or last years’ prayers and Bible reading can’t cover for today, a little like how yesterday’s lunch filled me up then, but it can’t fill me up today. Just as we eat physical food each day, let’s be sure to eat spiritual food each and every single day by worshipping, praying, and reading from God’s word.

What did you have for lunch two Sundays ago? What about a month ago? What about on this day, exactly one year ago? You might remember what you had two weeks ago, but chances are that unless one of those days happened to be a special occasion, you probably can’t answer the second or third question confidently. We generally don’t spend a lot of time thinking about what we had for lunch last week and some of us probably couldn’t even tell you what we ate for lunch yesterday! Isn’t it strange that in the last year of your life you’ve probably eaten between 700 and 1,000 meals, but you probably only remember a handful of them? If in the next year of my life I only ate as many meals as I specifically remember from the last year of my life, I would die of starvation. But just because I do not remember what I ate for lunch last week or a month ago or a year ago doesn’t mean those meals were unimportant. Every single one of those meals was important for my health, energy, and normal functioning in life. Those forgotten lunches—the few memorable ones and all the ones I don’t remember too—are what allow me to be who I am today. They sustained me and brought me to this point in life. 

Now let’s ask those questions we began with again but add a twist. What was the sermon about two Sundays ago? What did you pray about a month ago? What did you read from the Bible on this day, exactly one year ago? Sometimes I couldn’t even tell you what the sermon was about two Sundays ago, and I don’t remember exactly what I prayed for a month ago or what I read from my Bible a year ago! The point is that much like eating hundreds of meals over the past year and only remembering a handful of them, you’ve heard dozens of sermons, prayed countless prayers, and read extensively from God’s word, but at best you can probably only specifically remember a handful of all of those moments! Just like all those forgotten lunches, however, those sermons, prayers, and Scripture readings were crucial to your spiritual health. If in the next year you only listened to as many sermons, prayed as many prayers, and read as much of the Bible as you remember from the past year, you will starve spiritually. So as you worship, pray, and read your Bible daily, remember that these things are shaping you and forming you to become more like Christ, even if a few days from now you don’t specifically remember everything prayed or read. Sermons, prayers, and Scripture readings from days and weeks gone by may be forgotten now, but they are never unimportant.