In a matter of hours, the Summer Olympics 2012 will begin in London. I always enjoy watching the Olympics, both winter and summer games. In the summer Olympics, my favorite events to watch are gymnastics, swimming and diving. Every time I watch the Olympic events, I look at the athletes and think about how much time they spend training and sacrificing certain things in life in order to achieve their goals of getting to the Olympics. It’s really amazing when you think about all of the hours of training and the specific diets they eat in order to be the best that they can be at their event(s).
The Olympics and how the athletes train are a great metaphor for the Christian life, as demonstrated by Paul in two specific scriptures. The first one is Philippians 3:14: “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” The second one is 1 Corinthians 9:24: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.”
Paul understood and experienced what it takes to live the Christian life well: commitment, determination, discipline and perseverance. Once he was converted by Jesus, he was all in! He also went through amazing challenges and sufferings and kept on going, even when the going got tough.
So as I pondered all of these things, I began to analyze my own walk and think of some of the spiritual disciplines that can be our “training” and help us to perform the way Christ wants us to. A few that came to mind are solitude, study, worship, service, prayer and confession.
Solitude: Spending time without anyone else present and no distractions.
Study: Memorizing scripture and increasing your knowledge of God’s word, the Bible.
Worship: Participating in both corporate worship and including worship in your quiet time.
Service: Giving of your time and talents to your local church and others.
Prayer: Praying deliberately and with purpose.
Confession: Practice confessing your sins to trusted spiritual allies (people in your small group!) Gary Kinnaman talked about this in his sermon recently at VCNP and how confessing sins to one another brings healing.
I pray that we all practice the spiritual disciplines so that we may “win the prize” and celebrate with our Lord Jesus in heaven, when that wonderful day comes.
Blessings to you and enjoy the Summer Olympic Games!
Melissa