When Greece was as its mecca, bemas were used, a raised area for a public official who either made speeches from a stepped position or served as a judge for legal cases. The city of Corinth was the host of the Corinthian Games, an early version of the Olympics. During track competitions, a bema seat was used to insure no one broke the rules. The apostle Paul, an avid spectator devotes a portion of one letter to listening to the judge.
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, 1 Corinthians 9:24.
In modern track and field events, judges hold two flags, one that is white and another that is red. In a relay, white represents a clean hand off. Meanwhile, if a red flag is raised, a foul has been committed. Although red means automatic disqualification in races; field events give competitors three chances before being eliminated. Thus, whether you like the rules or not, if you want to be successful you must listen to the rules.
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, 1 Corinthians 9:25.
One of God’s greatest qualities is that He doesn’t keep any record of wrongs. However, just imagine for a moment if a judge was assigned to you daily, holding up a red flag for everyone to see each time you messed up. This would be extremely embarrassing and make people uncomfortable, especially on a bad day. Thank God this isn’t the way life has been designed. Rather, the Lord created free will so that you have every opportunity to listen or to ignore the judge. Until you cross the finish line, choose wisely by listening to the Judge.
by Jay Mankus
