It is easy to be proud to be an American after the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The United States garnered nearly a record number of medals, 104 compared to second-place China's 88, and topped the rest of the world in gold medals as well with a whopping 46.
More locally, someone from our hometown whom my daughters attended school and played sports with participated in the heptathalon and made a very decent showing.
What's not to like about that? Yet, I had to ask myself, does the U.S.' prowess in the Olympic games reflect how Christians in America are doing spiritually? Are we excelling in this area too? As believers, we all have a spiritual race we are running, and this race has much higher stakes than any natural game.
“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it,” Paul wrote to the Corinthian Church 2,000 years ago. And yet it still applies to us today.
What is God’s perspective on how we are running our race? Would we get the gold?
“And everyone who competes is temperate (exercises self-control) in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.” (1 Corinthians 9:25)
There is a race to be run, a race that God has ordained. Each of us is to run it with endurance, laying aside everything that keeps us from running the race as effectively as we can. The prize is nothing less than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself (Hebrews 12:1-2).
The glory of the Olympic races are impressive, but the glory of this race – the race of a life well lived for God – has a glory that is incomparable. Whatever sufferings we go through to serve Christ with undistracted devotion will be worth it. “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us,” Paul wrote to the Romans, some of whom under the monster Nero, would face martyrdom for their faith.
The 2012 Olympians trained and exercised self-control over every aspect of their lives in order to compete and perhaps win a medal that will rust and tarnish over time. They denied themselves legitimate pleasures and luxuries in order to harden their bodies and minds for the intense competition. They were in peak condition in order to give themselves the best chance to excel. All of this they did with one goal in mind – to be a winner. Many, like our hometown friend , did not expect to be in the top three finishers of the competition, but were simply thrilled to make the Olympics and fulfill a lifelong dream.
We can be thrilled to be in the race God has ordained for us. We exercise ourselves in godliness, which is profitable for every part of our life and the life to come. (1 Timothy 4:7-8).
Negative circumstances are an inevitable part of athletics. There are injuries and other unforeseen roadblocks. If the athlete becomes discouraged and drops out, there is no possibility of glory. Joy is the secret ingredient that kept Paul going despite numerous obstacles in his race. He would not allow negative circumstances to move him off of his course, including the knowledge that his actions would likely bring about his martyrdom. (Acts 20:24) He was determined to finish his race with joy, and we can too.
His prize and ours is an imperishable crown and the joy of hearing Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
