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Olympic Athletes Aren't Only Ones Who Have Important Races to Run |
2004-08-01 |
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“It isn’t if you win or lose...it’s how you play the game...”
“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 Cor 9:24
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race that is marked out for us” Heb 12:1
Our new Sports Illustrated issue just arrived in the mail. Lance Armstrong and Michael Phelps (the swimmer) grace the cover (depending if you are a subscriber or purchased at a newsstand). The Summer Olympics return this year to their birthplace in Greece. The Olympics are always fun to watch---winter or summer. They are exciting; it is difficult to not become attached to the athletes and get caught up in the patriotic cheering for “our team”.
It is wonderful and amazing to “meet” the athletes on Team USA. Sports Illustrated now begins the media’s barrage of getting to know the stories of these athletes----their challenges and struggles as well as their backgrounds. Their stories are about God-given talent linked with hard work, discipline and desire. By now we all know Lance Armstrong’s victory over cancer. Knowing that struggle, we appreciate more his victories.
We get caught up in believing that the only “winners” are the athletes who win a medal. Athletes will often concentrate on running/swimming/playing their own race/match to the best of their ability rather than worrying about what the competition is doing. They focus on their “personal best”; thinking about their own performance helps them to keep focused on their own race.
Lance Armstrong has often talked about how easy the Tour de France is compared to his battle with cancer and the training it took to return to the sport. Not that winning is not important anymore, but Armstrong simply has a much different perspective on the race.
We, too, have a race marked out for each of us. God has given us life to praise Him and to point others to Christ. Our race is to cling to God’s Word and hope in the One who gives us life! We are called to know and cling to God’s Word and to have that Word guide our life. We are not to worry about comparing our performance to that of others---it tends to take our focus from our “personal best”. We do all this knowing, above all, that the race has already been won for us in Jesus Christ. Victory is assured by the cross!
For us as Christians, it is how we play the game---we don’t have to win----we have the privilege of running the race---Loving God faithfully and being a good neighbor. Hearing God’s Word and sharing in the Lord’s Supper will strengthen, encourage, and sustain you. May God bless you as you train, discipline and run with perseverance the race that is marked out for you by God himself. How’s your race?
See you in church!
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