Friday, August 10, 2012

Going for Olympic Gold

I love watching the Olympics.  Some of my favorite events are volleyball, soccer, track and field, and gymnastics.  But I have found myself this time watching whatever event that was showing my country compete.  I take great pride in seeing the American flag fly when we win an event.  I love watching my fellow countrymen and women work their hardest to represent our nation well.  There is a lot of training and preparation for them in their pursuit for gold.  And to see it pay off for them in the end is a wonderful site.

This makes me think of how we serve our Lord.  Are we going for the Gold Medal at the end of our lives for Him?  Even the Apostle Paul likened his life to a course that is run.

2 Timothy 4:6-8
"For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing."

The crown of righteousness is  our prize, or gold medal if you will.  We have to make sure that we stay on course through our lives.  So, the question now is how to run the race to gold?  First, we have to have the right preparation.  We must be saved!

John 3:3
"Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”"



Salvation is key.  Before we can even reach the podium at the end of our lives we must be saved.  As Jesus Himself said, we must be born again.  We must repent from our sins.  That word repent means to have a change of mind about sin.  We must turn from those sins that ensnared us, and live for the Lord.  And we must acknowledge Jesus as Lord of our life.  That means that we no longer live our lives in what we want, but in what He wants.  We must put Him first in all things.

After this, we must train for the race ahead of us.  How do we do this?  We study God's Word.  We must continually devote ourselves to scripture.  For that is the best way to get to know Christ, and seek His will for our lives.  And along this, we need to pray.  We need to commune with God on a regular basis.  We need to seek His guidance in all things.  This builds our relationship with Him.  This is where our religion is separate from the others.  It is about a relationship with Christ.

Lastly, we need to live what we learn.  We need to be that witness that everyone sees while we run this race.

Hebrews 12:1-3
"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

The race that is our life, is a long one to run.  That is why we are to run with endurance.  Will we sin?  Yes, of course we will.  We will fall along the track.  But, a true believer will rise up.

James 1:22-25
"But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does."

And when things get hard, keep your eyes on Christ.  For what we have waiting on us in heaven is far greater than anything we have here on earth.  And it is worth so much more than a gold medal here.

Thanks for reading, and God Bless you all this week! 

3 comments:

  1. This reminds me of the message our pastor shared this week. He spoke of how strongly most of us "get out of the starting block" once we are newly baptized, but then the DEvil and life and sin all play a part of us "straying out of our own lane". His point was based on 4 principles that help is be "fabulous finishers" in the race of life.

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  2. Amen! Thanks for this encouraging post. God bless you and your family.

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  3. I was just commenting to my husband how it seems society no longer has a gold standard....too hard, too much effort. I see in my peers how little they expect from their children and it saddens me...i think we should all strive for gold!

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