I find Eugene Peterson a very interesting author. He is the author of The Message paraphrase of the Bible. (The above quote is Peterson's rendering of 1 Corinthians 9:26-27.) He has endured endless criticism from Bible readers for being too loose in his interpretations, and far too casual and contemporary with his language, often completely departing from the scriptures we all memorized in Sunday School growing up.

But sometimes, I like to hear the Word put to me in plain terms. Peterson has a no-nonsense, in-your-face way of interpreting the original Greek of the New Testament that I respect--even if I don't always agree with it. I found this to be true while revisiting the scriptural passage that has become the inspiration for the blog you're reading right now.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27, from the New International Version reads like this:

"24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."

This is at the very heart of my recent life. How easy is it to become a slave to the fleshy desires of our own bodies, rather than "beating" the desires of our bodies, and thus making our bodies obey our heart's desires to glorify the Lord? In the context of the way the author (Paul) is speaking of a race, it's not too hard to imagine the word "beat" in verses 26 and 27 having a meaning not so much physical, but competitive, not unlike beating someone in pool or checkers. Our objective isn't aimless ("beating the air"), but rather, it's aimed at our adversary, our bodies...the flesh we battle with every day.

The name of this blog, The 9:24 Project, is taken directly from the first verse of this passage. I have not recently been running in such a way as to "receive the prize." This includes, among other things, not working out (literally running!). So, I'm putting my body into stricter training (verse 25), knowing that my crown will last forever. I find my working out to be a good metaphor for the other areas of my life:

- When you're hurt (but not injured), you can quit because it hurts, or you can keep on going.

- When you ARE injured, you can keep on going it alone (and make it worse), or you can find someone to give you some help.

- If you stop doing it, it ceases to be your lifestyle. It's true of anything we spend our time on: friends, family, hobbies, quiet times in the Bible, etc.

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