Setting Records

It is clear that Paul likened the Christian walk to a race; you might say a progression, where we are following Christ and our competition is, well, ourselves, seeking to walk in the Spirit and not fulfilling the desires of the flesh. Philippians 3 states:
12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.
13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,
14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

The concept is clear: the Lord desires for us to move forward, growing daily in Him.  We can evaluate whether or not the course of our lives is set up for that progress. We can look back at from where we have come and recognize whether or not we are living a more productive spiritual life and if we have truly drawn closer to Christ.  Then, we can look ahead and follow the direction of His Word and His Holy Spirit in order to exhibit growth.

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Paul's writings are peppered with athletic analogies, which can be helpful to us as we grow in the Christian life. For instance, he writes in 1st Corinthians chapter 9:
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.
26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air.
27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

Track star Sydney McLaughlin continues to set records - that's a picture of determination and growth in one's ability.  Sports Spectrum reported recently that she "won her first world championships gold medal..., when she won the women’s 400-meter hurdles event in a world-record time of 50.68 seconds. It marked her fourth time lowering the event’s best time in the past 13 months."

Catch the progression here - the article relates:

The previous world record, which McLaughlin set a month ago at the U.S. Championships, was 51.14. Prior to that, she set the world record at 51.46 en route to winning the Olympic gold medal last summer in Tokyo. And before that mark, she became the first woman to go under 52 seconds when she ran 51.90 at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Now, she’s the first woman to finish the race under 51 seconds.

So, it seems that you can count on Sydney to continue to turn in strong showings on the track.  And, you can count on her to give glory to God; after the latest race, she told NBC Sports:

“I’ll have to start off by saying all the glory to God,” she said. “These past few days getting ready for this race, Hebrews 4:16 has been on my mind — coming boldly to His throne to receive mercy and grace. And I think He really gave me the strength to do it today, so all the glory goes to God.

That is consistent with other statements she has made in the past. Last November, on the Sports Spectrum Podcast, she said: “For a long time, track was who I was,” adding, “But now more than ever, first and foremost I’m a child of God, and track is not who I am, it’s what I do.”

The recent article noted that in that podcast:

Prior to giving her life to Christ, she recalled that she was living for the world, even though God was pursuing her.

“I put that off and just walked in the world and lived a very secular life,” she said on the podcast. “It never fulfilled me, it never sustained me and I could vividly hear God in a couple of instances say, ‘Are you done? Are you ready to give your life over to Me? Are you ready to let Me have control?’ I would literally tell Him ‘no’ because I wasn’t sure, in doing that, if it would turn out the way that I wanted it to turn out. God doesn’t force you to love Him.”

But she eventually surrendered, and her life changed forever.

The two-time Tokyo gold medal winner can provide us with inspiration as we run our race. 

We should be committed to living more dependent on Christ each day.  Successful athletes train for their competition; we should be in a state of "training" so that we can be the very best for Christ and grow closer to Him consistently.  I think of Barry Meguiar's exhortation that we should be moving people one step closer to Jesus every single day - that goes for our own pattern, as well.  We can ask ourselves some pertinent questions: Can I look back and track my spiritual growth - am I better in some areas?  Have I obtained more victory?  Where can I improve and how do I get there?  We can strive for our personal best as God gives us the strength.

Sydney McLaughlin is someone who shows us how to keep our priorities in the right order, as well. We can recognize that our identity is not ultimately in what we do, but in how we allow Christ to do His work through us.  We can be wrapped up in our activity to the extent that it becomes an idol to us. What we do should ideally flow from who we are in the Lord.