The winter of 2010 brought the Olympic games to Vancouver Canada. It was incredibly exciting watching these athletes compete in the various events on the slopes and in the arenas. One of the highlights of the games featured Shaun White in the Super pipe snowboarding competition. Incredibly, after his first run, he had the gold medal wrapped up. His scores were so high in his first attempt that his second run was not even necessary. When he was informed that his second run was optional, without hesitation, he went to the top of the hill to prepare to give it his all. The reason that Shaun White did not hesitate to head back up the hill is because he is not just an Olympian, he is first and foremost, a snowboarder. As a snowboarder, he has prepared himself and mastered foundational skills that enable him to perform very well. Amazingly, this young Olympic athlete not only completed his second run but he delivered an amazingly gutsy performance that blew his previous gold medal performance away.
Even though most of us will never have the opportunity to get on a snowboard and compete for a medal of any kind, all Christ-followers, like Shaun White have a race to finish. Amazingly, God has given each one of us the calling to be His Ambassadors in a world that desperately needs to know that Jesus came to pay the price for each man's sin debt. It is amazing to me that God allows each one of us to participate with Him in the effort to communicate this news to people around the world. This calling is so important that all Ambassadors for Christ must make sure that we pay attention to the Word of God because in doing so, we ensure that we are prepared to run our races well.
Honestly, as Shaun White was flying through that half-pipe on his snowboard, I could not help but think about how I will finish this race of ministry to which God has called me to run. Thankfully, God's word helps all of us discover, understand and implement the fundamentals that help us to faithfully and effectively run our races. After watching Shaun White get on a snowboard and execute his run with passion, purpose and precision, I asked the Lord to help me finish this race of ministry with that kind of confidence and expectation. After praying that prayer, the Lord quickly responded through the heart and life of the Apostle Peter. In the book of II Peter, this "colorful" apostle helps us discover some incredible “race finishing” nuggets of wisdom that all of us need to encounter today. Listen to what he says:
"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith, goodness, and to goodness, knowledge, and to knowledge, self-control, and to self-control, perseverance, and to perseverance, godliness, and to godliness, brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins." Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." II Peter 1:3-11
The fact is that in my life, I not only want to run a good race but I want to run in such a way that the Lord will be greatly pleased on the day I am blessed to stand before Him. In order to finish my race in “gold medal” form, studying God's word and putting it into practice will lead me to the necessary spiritual disciplines that will ensure not only a race run well but also a meeting with the Master that will be a treasured experience.
Today, how well are you running your race? Could you honestly say that these spiritual qualities that Peter listed in this passage are increasing in your life? What is it that is keeping you from faithfully following Jesus right now? Is that habit or lifestyle really producing the fulfillment that you are looking for?
Can I challenge you that with this amazing truth? Every time a person chooses to put God's words into practice, he or she will be able to not only complete their race of life but will experience a gold medal victory in something that lasts much longer than a 2010 Olympic gold medal. If Jesus Christ is your Savior, He has forgiven you of your past sins. That is something we should never forget. In fact, the experience of forgiveness is something that we should never stop talking about as long as we live.
Incredibly, God's forgiveness has touched us and this is what compels us to use our gifts to go all over the world doing our best to point people to Jesus.
Be an Ambassador for Christ today! Make sure that these disciplines are on the increase in your life. In doing so, you will be going for the REAL gold medal and that is a ceremony more spectacular than you could even imagine.
Posted on
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
by Chris Wall