The Masters is taking place right now and although there are some interesting golfers on the leaderboard, the story of this tournament once again is Tiger Woods. The five-time champion is back playing in a tournament for the first time in over 500 days. He experienced a life-threatening car crash in 2021 that resulted in severe injuries to his right leg, leading to a rod being inserted into his tibia and screws and pins put into his foot and ankle. It’s truly unbelievable that the 46-year old golfer is even out on the golf course again, and absolutely remarkable that during yesterday’s first round he shot under par (-1), putting himself in a great position heading into Friday’s round. Leading up to this year’s tournament, we all wondered whether or not he'd be able to play, and if he did, how well his body would hold up. Well, he’s off to a strong start and we don't know how this weekend will turn out, but what we do know is he’s there to win. He did whatever was necessary to train, heal, and prepare his body to make it back to the Masters, not just to have fun, but to win. This takes immense commitment, discipline, and sacrifice. Tiger said earlier this week, “I don’t show up to an event unless I think I can win it. So that’s the attitude I’ve had.”
While watching the coverage yesterday, I heard the announcers explain how Tiger has a look in his eyes that says, “I’m here on a mission.” They also added, "He's not here just to go through the motions and see what happens. He's got one thing on his mind and that's to win a 6th Green Jacket."
Tiger is a winner and even at this point in his career, after everything he’s been through, his focus is to win.
The question for us to unpack in our own lives is, are we living like “I’m here on a mission”? Or are we “just going through the motions and we’ll see what happens”?
As followers of Jesus, we’re here to win! Our mission is to surrender to Him daily, live our lives to honor Him, and win souls for Christ.
We trust God as we train, heal, and prepare ourselves to be out there in life, not just for fun, but to win. This takes immense commitment, discipline, and sacrifice as we do what’s necessary to live in obedience with purpose and stay on His path.
The apostle Paul used sports metaphors way before UNPACKIN’ it started and here is what he writes in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NLT): “Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training.
"They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.”
The paraphrased version of 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 in the Living Bible Translation puts it this way:
“In a race, everyone runs, but only one person gets first prize. So run your race to win. To win the contest you must deny yourselves many things that would keep you from doing your best. An athlete goes to all this trouble just to win a blue ribbon or a silver cup, but we do it for a heavenly reward that never disappears. So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. I fight to win.
"I’m not just shadow-boxing or playing around. Like an athlete I punish my body, treating it roughly, training it to do what it should, not what it wants to. Otherwise, I fear that after enlisting others for the race, I myself might be declared unfit and ordered to stand aside.”
Thankfully, we aren’t in competition with one another, but rather we can each live our lives to win, in light of eternity. We find victory in Christ through faith in Him, we win as we live life with Him, and we win people to Him.
Tiger Woods was self-disciplined as he sacrificed and trained to chase after a 6th Green Jacket…that even if he wins, will fade away.
Today, let’s remember that whatever self-discipline and self-sacrifice we experience for Jesus, it’s worth it, because “we do it for a heavenly reward that never disappears.” We're here to win!
I’m Bryce Johnson and you can UNPACK that!PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I pray I wouldn't just go through the motions, but I would remain disciplined and intentional in obeying You. I desire to win people to faith in Christ, and I pray that I would have an eternal focus as I live my life. Thank you for saving me by Your grace. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.
Discussion Questions for PACKS:
Are you living to win or are you just going through the motions?
In what ways do your discipline, sacrifice, and training need to improve in order to experience more winning?
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