Going For More Than Gold!

This past week the 2018 Winter Olympics began with all of it’s fanfare and glory.  The athletes entered the arena to music and cheers, waving to the crowds, and waving their flags.  Each of them had put in their time, training hard—eating, breathing, and sleeping their sport.  They entered the arena filled with hope, many of them dreaming that they might just be the one to stand on the podium and receive Olympic gold! 

On the other hand, most of them know that their chances for gold are slim. Each sport is filled with a few extremely talented athletes who are the favorites to win.  Then there are the long shots whose chances are slim, but they are not totally out of the picture. Finally, there are those who know they have no chance at all, but they are there simply to be part of this incredible event.  I think of the guy from Tonga who took up cross-country skiing.  He had never even seen snow until he decided to train for the sport! For guys like him it’s not about the prize, but about participating and finishing. For him it’s about being able to say he was there and did his best. 

The skier from Tonga who had never seen snow!

The Bible shows us that one day God is going give out prizes of a sort. Those prizes, however, aren’t for the fastest, the most talented, the greatest, the strongest, or the most outstanding. They are not for those who are able to outdo the others. Rather, the prizes of heaven are for those who have participated, persevered, and simply done their best as they have sought to live out this life of faith.  The “gold” of heaven is for people who will run not for the prize, but for the sheer privilege of knowing Jesus as Lord and Savior of their life and being faithful in their walk with him.

The Apostle Paul put it this way in writing about his own life of faith, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me…I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12, 14 – NIV)

I want to encourage you today to remember that God has in store a prize for each of us who will “press on toward the goal.”  You don’t need to get there first or as the strongest or fastest. You just need to keep on running to the end.  After all, we are going for more than gold!

Have a great day!

Pastor Tim Harris