The Real Gold Medal
In watching the Beijing Olympics one thing was very evident. Olympic aspirations are built upon such a flimsy, fragile foundation. They are so subject and dependent upon variables and conditions such as temperatures, wind, snow, age, the competition, the judges and the price of liver in Timbuktu. A little too much or a little too little of a twist, a turn or a lean, too much too early, too little too late. You get it. Oh, how hard they try. How hard they fall. How much they celebrate! How much the agonize. And for some, how cunningly they cheat just to attain.
Perfection is so difficult to accomplish. Errors and slipups are always knocking at the door. Distractions abound. Focus, so necessary, is so easily lost and even then, it is not always the key to victory. And all for a medal that is temporary, and for fame that is so fleeting. Do you remember Lutz Long, Cassius Clay, Janet Lynn, Picaboo Street, Eric Heiden, Phil Mahre? All winners, but mostly forgotten. And sadly, I’ve found that when winning, not living, was their main goal, life didn’t turn out well.
Paul says, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. And everyone who competes in the Games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.” 1 Corinthians 9:24, 25
What are you and I pursuing in life? What are our aspirations? I doubt any of us are aspiring to win a medal at the Olympics? But are we really focused upon the imperishable wreath, or prize? Are we running to win? What is our treasure? It is where our heart will be, Jesus tells us. Is it loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength? Is it heaven? Listen to what Jesus tells us is the only safe medal to pursue. “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
James tells us that this life is “just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” Peter tells, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off.” You see, life is pretty fragile and flimsy. It’s why Jesus tells us to build our lives upon the rock of His Word so that we have a foundation that will be solid, firm and secure and a wreath that lasts forever.