When I was a kid, I had all kinds of ribbons on my walls for races I had run, but not one of them was blue. Not one of them had the words "first place." They were all purple. Purple represented "honorable mention." An honorable mention is not first, second, third, or fourth place. It means "also ran." In other words, "We don't want him to feel bad, so we'll give him a purple ribbon."

Of course, everyone wants first place. Everyone wants to win the gold medal. That is where the prestige is.

But let me say this. I am running this race of life, and I know one day there is a reward in heaven waiting for me. It won't be because of how much I have done. It will be based on how faithful I was to what God called me to do. The same is true for you. Your reward will be based on how faithful you are to what God has called you to do.

Let me also say that I am not running this race for the reward. Nor am I running it for other people or to score points. I am running this race for Jesus. He is the One we all should be running for.

The apostle Paul presents the same principle in Philippians 3:10: "That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death. . . . " Paul was saying, "This is why I am doing it—my purpose for running this race is to know Jesus Christ." That is what mattered to him.

 And that is what should matter to us.