We’re running short on sleep this week because we’ve been up late watching the Summer Olympics (which start late and run until midnight in the Eastern Time Zone). It’s worth the lost sleep to hear inspiring stories of struggle and triumph, and to see the worlds’s best athletes competing at the highest level.
Just after the finish line or the final judges scores, you can see the culmination of years of intense focus and effort on the faces of the victors in that instant when they realize they have won a medal. . . an Olympic medal. Some smile ear to ear. Others give a primal scream while pumping their fists. There are the team group hugs, and many times, tears of joy, relief, and validation in a flood of emotions.
In the post-event interviews some of these winning competitors have said things like, “It’s been a tough journey, but this makes it all worth it.”
What has been worth it? The thousands of hours of training. Tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars invested. Literal ‘blood, sweat and tears’ have finally culminated in an Olympic victory.
The pain.
Injuries
The sacrifice.
Disappointments.
Early mornings, and late nights.
These are the ones who didn't quit. These are the ones who didn't give up when the going was hard. They shook off the sweat and pushed through the pain. Some were told they’d never come back from a certain loss or an injury. Yet, there they stand on the Olympic podium with a medal around their neck that proclaims them the best in the world.
Yes, it is worth it.
But how much more . . .
24 You know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize. So run to win! 25 All those who compete in the games use self-control so they can win a crown. That crown is an earthly thing that lasts only a short time, but our crown will never be destroyed. 26 So I do not run without a goal. I fight like a boxer who is hitting something—not just the air. 27 I treat my body hard and make it my slave so that I myself will not be disqualified after I have preached to others. 1 Cor. 9:24-27 NCV
The Olympics are not only a picture of triumph and dreams come true, there are those who fall short or are disqualified. Like the world-class athlete whose dream of an Olympic medal just was shattered as they fell off the gymnastics apparatus. Others didn’t run their best race and finished just 1/100th of a second short of receiving a medal.
These images of failure also remain in our minds and on the ‘lowlights’ reels of sports channels for years to come. I always felt bad for Vinko Bogataj, the ski jumper from Yugoslavia who had to watch his ‘agony of defeat’ at the World Sky Flying Championships in Overstdorf Germany in 1970 over and over for years every time ABC played the opening video montage to the Wide World of Sports. (If you are young enough to not know what I’m talking about, click the link).
To have come so close, . . . and fallen short. They remind us as it relates to our spiritual journey, to always run the best race that we can. Unless, like Paul said in 1 Cor. 9:27 above, we be disqualified. . . fall short . . . fail . . . eternally. There is so much at stake.
The Apostle Paul also writes to Timothy in the New Testament:
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store 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 longed for his appearing. 2 Tim. 4:7-8
This crown Paul speaks of is not a temporary earthly award that we receive from the hand of an Olympic official in a blue blazer. No. When we receive the eternal crown of righteousness it comes from the nail-scarred hand of Jesus Himself. A solemn reminder that we are not the only ones who have been rejected, criticized, and mocked. We are not the only ones who have shed literal blood, sweat and tears and had to sacrifice to obey God.
Yes, winning an Olympic medal is worth all the work, commitment, sacrifice, and endless training.
But How much more . . .
When we receive the crown of righteousness from Jesus and hear Him say, “Well done good and faithful servant.”
So, if I could coach you today:
Fight.
Press in.
Don’t quit.
Keep training.
Keep the faith. And,
Don’t give up when it’s hard.
It will definitely be worth it.
Enjoying the Journey, (and the Olympics)
David
