I love the fact that Paul draws a comparison between physical and spiritual training. But most of us do one of two things with this passage. We either completely discount the benefits of physical training, or we miss the fact that we should actually engage in spiritual training.

To be honest, neither of these responses is correct. Obviously, spiritual training is superior to physical training. Eventually, our bodies will wear out and break down. Thankfully, we will receive a new, incorruptible body in Heaven! But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take care of everything that God has entrusted to us—including our bodies. In fact, we are called to love God with all of our mind and strength. That means that our physical condition will have a direct impact on our moods, our emotions, our clarity of mind, our energy and our strength.

On the other side, those of us who understand how important it is to be physically healthy often miss the fact that we need to train spiritually. That means we need a plan. And we need to sacrifice time, effort and energy in order to get stronger in our relationship with God. We must intentionally do whatever it takes to renew our mind, hear from God, be refreshed and combat the influence of our flesh and the world.

Think about this… For some of us, if we trained physically like we do spiritually, we would be morbidly obese. For others, if we trained spiritually like we do physically, we would be missionaries!

It’s time to start training spiritually like we were preparing for an Ironman triathlon. We need to put in the hours and the miles necessary to win. Take time today to pray, read and worship!