Single-minded Winners

Like many here in the UK I have been following the Rio Olympics. I can’t cope with the suspense of actually watching the competitions take place(!) but I enjoy hearing the news of our people gaining medals and looking at the award ceremonies.

The whole range of emotions is set before us. Some Olympians display unbounded delight and relief and pour out gratitude to all and sundry. Others are quieter and less intense, but still honoured to achieve what they have done.

More distressing is the sight of those who are disappointed for whatever reason. Some feel cheated and angry; others that they have let themselves and their supporters down. Still others seem bewildered by the runaway success of the competition in what they had regarded as “their” event.

In the eyes of most of us, simply being chosen to represent one’s country in the Olympics would be an unimaginable achievement. Yet all that is lost on those who have invested years of time and effort in an event of maybe only a few minutes’ or even seconds’ duration - and have come nowhere. Devastated, they speak of quitting the sport. Some may be persuaded to keep trying, and may succeed in the end.

It is common knowledge that the Olympics since 1896 are the modern equivalent of a contest that began in classical times. Less well known is the fact that ancient Olympians were at least as single-minded in their preparations as modern ones. Diet, exercise, lifestyle - all had to be tip-top for the athlete to compete at his best. Distractions could not, must not be allowed.

In the Bible, the apostle Paul harnesses this image in his description of the Christian life. There can be no such person as a part-time Christian.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified (1 Corinthians 9:24-27 ESV).

Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything (2 Timothy 2:3-7).

“Remember Jesus Christ,” he adds, pointedly. Christ endured everything in the build-up to the cross at Calvary, and then on the cross itself. He won the crown. But what gave Him the greatest satisfaction was to see believers saved from sin by trusting in Him.

If we have died with him,
we will also live with him;
if we endure,
we will also reign with him;
if we deny him,
he also will deny us;
if we are faithless,
he remains faithful —
for he cannot deny himself (2 Timothy 2:11-13).
So far, it may sound as though I have said too much about the place of your own efforts and not enough about the place of our Saviour in bringing us to heaven. Let me finish with the story of the little Caribbean lad who kept dropping behind in a running race. It seemed unlikely he would win. Suddenly his legs seemed to get going. He seemed to move faster and with great regularity. He passed all the rest of the field and won. Observers noticed that his lips were moving constantly and asked him what he had been whispering to himself as he ran. He replied that he had been praying, saying over and over again,

“Lord, you pick 'em up an’ I’ll put 'em down!”