Are you a winner?

HOW FAST are you? Do you finish your homework quickly so you can get to something fun—a video game, a book you want to read, meeting or calling a friend?

Do you like to compete? Do you like to be first with a math answer, or the first to own the newest game?

When running in a race, it is important to win, to cross the finish line ahead of everyone else. This is why you enter a race, to win. Olympians practice many hours, often for years, in order to compete with the best. For each Olympian the goal is to win, to get the gold medal.

We admire people who win. Donovan Bailey is considered Canada’s greatest sprinter of all time. In the 1996 Olympics at Atlanta, Donovan Bailey raced to receive a double gold medal. He set a world record by running the 100 metre sprint in 9.84 seconds. We admire Donovan Bailey’s running ability and his success.

The animal kingdom has great sprinters, too. Every part of a cheetah’s body is made for speed; its body is slender and light; its long tail helps it stay balanced; it runs on its toes to make sudden turns easier. The cheetah’s strong claws are designed to grip the ground then push off in a great leap to start the race. Its speed of 113 kilometres an hour is unmatched by any other animal. The cheetah’s life depends on its speed. A win for the cheetah means it gets a meal.

The gazelle is a swift runner, too. Some gazelles can outrun even the swiftest greyhounds. As the gazelle flees its predator it makes several high leaps in the air and then lands on all four feet at the same time. This is called a stot. Each stot, or bounce, sends a message to its hunter that it is fit and strong. The higher its stots, the stronger it must be. The gazelle, too, depends on its speed for its life.

The roadrunner is the sprinter of the bird world. The roadrunner can fly, but it pursues it prey—insects, lizards and rattlesnakes—on the ground. With its long legs it can speed along at 40 kilometres an hour and overtake fast-running prey. The roadrunner’s wings help to balance it and its long tail acts like a rudder to steer it. The roadrunner is not only fast, but it can make sharp 90-degree turns at top speed without slowing down.

The sprint champion of the insect world is the tiger beetle, the quickest killer on six legs. Its real speed is 60 centimetres a second. This may not seem fast to us, but in the insect world it can outrun any prey. If the tiger beetle were as large as a horse, and its speed scaled up equally, its speed would be 400 kilometres an hour.

For the animals in the animal kingdom, winning ensures their survival. The apostle Paul talks about life as a race. Just like an athlete runs to win, the only way to run the race of life is to run so you win. And, like an athlete, you must stay in the race to win. If you drop out, you lose.

In 1 Corinthians 9:24 Paul says, "Run in such a way that you may obtain the prize." In other words, run to win. One way to run the race of life and win is to trust Jesus to help you do the things He wants you to do.

So don’t quit! Run to win!

Are you a winner?

Go on a word search safari. Look across, back, up, down and diagonally for animal words.