Read 2 Timothy 2:1–13
Today’s Scripture: Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules.
2 Timothy 2:5

A person who strives as an athlete to win a game and get a crown must be careful to obey all the rules. In the ancient Greek games in particular, the judges were most careful about enforcing the rules. Each competitor had to be a citizen of his nation, with a good reputation. In his preparations for the event, he had to follow specific standards. If an athlete was found defective in any matter, he was disqualified. If, after he had competed and won, he was found to have broken some rule, he then lost his crown.

From the human point of view, Paul was a loser. There was nobody in the grandstands cheering for him: “All they which are in Asia” had turned away from him (2 Tim. 1:15 KJV). He was in prison. Yet, Paul was a winner! He had kept the rules laid down in the Word of God, and one day he would get his reward from Jesus Christ. Paul was saying to young Timothy, “The important thing is that you obey the Word of God, no matter what people may say. You are not running the race to please people or to get fame. You are running to please Jesus Christ.”

Something to Ponder
What does it mean for you to “obey the rules” in regard to your faith?