'I can't imagine living and not running.’        

                                                                     Paula Radcliffe 

What a statement!  For Paula Radcliffe running is everything.  In fact, for her, life is running.  Her identity as a person is found completely in her sport and her life would be incomplete if she could not run.  She lives to run! 

How is it for you?

You are passionate about sport but does it define you as a person?

What part does your relationship with God play in your identity?

Who are you living for?

Where would you say your true identity is found? 

These are the issues we are going to be looking at over the next few weeks.  As Christians who love sport and are playing each week, we want to ensure that our identity is found completely in Christ.  

How hard is this?!

If you are like me, you will struggle with issues like this a lot of the time – performing to impress others, how we look and the image we portray are all areas which can be really challenging.  How we deal with these issues will be crucial if we are going to live lives completely for God.  We want our lives to be a response to what Christ has done for us and nothing else.  Over the next few weeks we will investigate where our identity should be found and how we can battle against the areas which we find difficult to live for Christ alone.   

Why do we need to battle against these issues?  So that we can say, as Paul did in 2 Timothy v 7 when he knew that he life was nearly at its end: 

‘I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.’

Paul was so thankful that he had fought against those things which would have stopped him from following Christ.  He was thrilled to have lasted the course.  We need to battle against the issues which will stop us from following Christ so that we too can finish the race and keep the faith.