25. Every man who strives in the games exercises self-control in all things. Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. 26. I therefore run like that, not aimlessly. I fight like that, not beating the air,  1 Corinthians 9:25-26 WEB

Some will say that we should accept Christ´s sacrifice for us and jump straight into celebrating while others call for a repentant heart. As with everything that we find in spiritual terms, many paradoxes make arguing between the two futile. We could get caught up trying to defend one side while overlooking the importance of the other. Christ´s atonement does bring endless amounts of relief and adoration. However, it does not come to unrepentant souls. So, although we know the joy set before us and will surely begin feeling it surging up within us, our need for our Savior is what ties us to Him. To make sure that our celebration does come we should each focus as hard as we possibly can on feeding that need until being with our Lord every moment of the day is our greatest desire.