The Olympic Games!
Held every four years, the Olympic Games, currently taking place in Paris, is considered one of the most interesting events that all people eagerly look forward to. Your age, gender, or belief does not lessen your enthusiasm; you are watching and praying that your country’s teams might win the golden medals. Who would not want to win the golden medal?
But there can never be more than one golden medal-winner!
What makes an athlete so distinctive that he/she is capable of winning that one golden medal?
Well, in Olympic games, what makes an athlete so distinctive to win the golden medal is similar to what a true Christian needs to have in order to win his/ her Cup: the eternal life and the Glory of Heaven.
St Paul says in his first epistle to the Corinthians: ‘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.’ 1Co 9: 24
How can we ‘run in such a way’? How can an athlete keep running to win a 500-meter race or to score the winning goal in a 90-minutes football match?
Olympic games: It is never easy
Same as the athlete, a true Christian needs to be a persistent and a strong-willed fighter. However, a Christian golden medal is different than that of an athlete; a Christian’s golden medal is a Heavenly reward. A Christian’s dream is not achieving a momentarily award that might be lost or broken; a true Christian’s dream is the eternal life: to live forever with the King of Kings our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Importance of Teamwork in Achieving Success
The Role of Obedience in Achieving Victory and Spiritual Growth
Another important ingredient that produces a winner is obedience.
For athletes to be able to get hold of those shiny golden medals they must follow the rules; and those rules are not randomly made; those rules are wisely put by an expert coach whose main goal is the athletes’ victory.
Athletes, whether they are playing individual events or team events, must believe in their coaches; they must obediently submit to their instructions.
The coach can inspire the player, who looks up to him; he is the one person who knows the players points of weakness and points of strength, so he is capable of making the perfect plan to help the player win the game.
We all must have a coach.
We, Christians, have a father of confession –a spiritual father – he spiritually ‘coaches us’; in other words, he guides us, advises us about things we should do and warns us against things we mustn’t do.
When a Christian listens intently, obeys and respects his spiritual father’s guidance, ‘the coach’, when he asks him for advice and refers to him for answers, he will be saved, and he will eventually ‘win the medal’.
