6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
We should be all about being excellent in what we do; we can maximize the talent and skills that God has granted to us - but ultimately, we should do all things for His glory. So, our approach to our work, whether it be a paid vocation or unpaid volunteer opportunity, should reflect our commitment to honor Him with all we do. He wants us to give maximum effort by the Holy Spirit, and the rewards we receive in this life pale by comparison to the reward of being in heaven with Him, which is actually a free gift, unattainable by human effort.
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Ultimately, our aim is not to achieve greatness, to win games, or earn medals; we are called into a
relationship with Christ and to testify to God's greatness. 1st Corinthians 9 states:
24 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 obtain it.
25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.
The Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea are now officially underway, and while the athletes take to the slopes or the ice for some action, there are some athletes who have allowed the action of the Holy Spirit to take root in their hearts.
There have been several lists of Christian athletes that have been released over the past few days. Gina Dalfanzo, at the Christianity Today site and Brett McCracken, at The Gospel Coalition website, have published lists of athletes. You have a very unique element in that you have Nic and Elana Meyers Taylor, a husband and wife team who are part of the U.S. Olympic Team. Christianity Today reports:
While Elana Meyers Taylor is going to PyeongChang as a member of the women’s bobsled team, her husband, Nic, will be there to play multiple roles: both an alternate for the US men’s bobsled team, and Elana’s trainer and biggest supporter. Pastor Ryan Schneider, who married them and who leads a Bible study in which they participate, tells FCA Magazine that Nic’s sacrificial support of Elana, prioritizing her training and her needs above his own, is “the perfect picture of a husband loving his wife like Christ loved the church.”Elana missed Olympic gold by just one-tenth of a second in the Sochi games in 2014. She is quoted on the Gospel Coalition site:
“We’re talking about the Olympics. We’re talking about trying to win the gold medal. All of these things can be overwhelming,” Taylor said in a 2016 interview. “But regardless of whether I win a gold medal or never compete again, I just have to trust that God has a plan for my life and I’m called to be his representative through the sport and outside of the sport.”Then there's former Meeting House guest Kelly Clark. She is the author of a book called, Reaching New Heights. She will be the first U.S. snowboarder to compete in five Olympics, according to McCracken, who states:
After she achieved fame and success in the 2002 Olympics, Clark found her life lacking meaning and fulfillment. At 20, she overheard a conversation in which four words caught her attention: “God still loves you.” Clark couldn’t shake these words, which set her on a path to accept Jesus Christ, changing the course of her life and giving her a new identity.
“I started to understand that I didn’t get my worth from people or from the things that I did,” Clark said. “It was from Christ. If I hadn’t had that shift in my life, I think my world would have come crumbling down.”And, then there's David Wise, a skiier, who, according to Dalfanzo, was the first man to win a gold medal in the ski halfpipe in Sochi four years ago, its first year as an Olympic sport. The CT article quotes Wise:
“I know that whatever happens to me is not outside the control of a God that faithfully cares for my family and I,” he says. “The fact that God is in control over my life and my family’s life, takes pressure off of me. It makes it easier for me to go out there and enjoy the ride.”These are just some of the athletes who will be competing in the Olympics in South Korea over the next few weeks. I have to think about Tony Dungy's comments that I shared yesterday; He said that Eagles quarterback Nick Foles' confidence in the Lord would enable him to play well. And He did.
Tony is on fire online about the Super Bowl, and he's been responding to criticism for reporting the faith of an athlete. Another tweet said: "Why would you find it hard to believe that the Holy Spirit could speak to Nick Foles just as much as a coach could speak to him? If he credited a coach for saying “Stay calm and be confident” that’s good. But if he tells me Christ says that to him I shouldn’t report it???
But, I digress: we recognize that our faith in the Lord will produce fruit for His glory. These Olympians are extremely competitive, and I think we can say that their devotion to Christ is paramount; He enables them to compete at a high level, and if they win a medal, we can assume they will give honor to Him. But, to many Christian athletes, winning or losing is a by-product of obedience.
Because, as it's been said, our call is to be obedient to the Lord and leave the results up to Him - and to accept the results as His will - if we have done our best, if we have aspired to excellence, doing our work as unto Him, He is the One responsible for the prize.
But, we can know that He enables us to do our work for Him well. So, we should always strive to bring Him glory by honoring Him with our gifts and talents. If He has provided talent in a certain area, we are responsible for using that for His purposes.
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