Going for Gold

  The Olympics has been in full swing for a week and my mom and I have been watching as many events as we can. The competition between countries and individuals is intense. Closeups on the athletes’ faces reveal a myriad of emotions. They can be nervous before the event, concentrated during it, with relief and smiles or frowns after. Each athlete has one goal in mind — the gold medal. 

They’ve spent years training and competing. Athletes have gotten up at 5am to train before they go to school. Then they’re back to training afterward. They go to competitions and tournaments every chance they get. They suffer injuries and disappointing losses. Yet, they go on because they have their eyes on the prize. It’s what drives them. Everything is done with the end in view.

Saturday, I watched the women’s 100-meter final in track and field. As the runners were announced the crowd cheered loudest for the favored Americans. The last to walk into the stadium was a young woman from St. Lucia, a small island nation in the Caribbean. Nobody gave her a second look as she settled into the starting block. When the gun discharged the women were off running for gold. Right away the St. Lucian runner edged out front and maintained the lead to win the race. At first there was a stunned silence, then a loud roar. This girl had just won St. Lucia’s first Olympic medal ever. And it was gold! All because she kept her eye on the prize. All the training, injuries and races came down to that one moment. 

I find it fitting that the Apostle Paul used the analogy of the runner looking to the finish line as a metaphor for the journey of the Christian life. (Philippians 3:12-14) Everything we do and say is training for the day we come face to face with our Savior. Life is not so much about what we accomplish here but being mindful of eternity. Only what we do for eternity will be considered when we stand before the Lord. Our money will still be in the bank, useless. Our possessions will stay here gathering dust. But the conversation we had with that one who was hurting, the meal we took to the one recovering from surgery, the opportunity we took to share the gospel with one who is lost — those will be presented before the Lord as a crown to cast at His feet. We keep our perspective on what matters for eternity and not on the transient, fleeting pleasures of this life. Philippians 3:12-14 is motivation for us to stay the course, concentrate on the journey. A gold medal hanging around the neck of an athlete doesn’t compare to the streets of gold we will enjoy for eternity.

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