OLYMPIC FAITH
Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>
August 15, 2004
Text: Hebrews 11:29-12:3
The Olympics began this weekend. Even though the Olympic event and
athletes receive plenty of hype from all the sports media attention, I
still receive a thrill when I watch most of the events. Overall, I still
feel there is a certain athletic purity exhibited by the vast majority of
the athletes. They have trained hard - fanatically so - and now they are
at the Olympic games to compete. I can understand the many who have honed
their bodies and their skills in such a way that they have a legitimate
chance at standing on one of the three levels of the winners podium. I
am probably more amazed at those who know that they do not have any such
chance, yet still sacrifice so much to be a competitor in the Olympics.
It is those athletes who probably still fill me with feelings of the
athletic purity of the event.
One of the athletes who tried out for the Olympic games is Rosa
Gutierrez. Rosa has trained hard for most of her life and competed in
tough, competitive races such as the Stockton 10-miler, the Gasparilla
15k race, and the Rotary Mission Ten. Get this: she runs between 80 and
90 miles a week, plus regular swimming and weight training. She is able
to cover long distances at the impressive pace of six minutes per mile.
All of this has been in preparation for the marathon at the 2004 Olympic
games. Unfortunately, she did not qualify for the American team this
year.
In spite of her tough regimen, Rosa is more than an athlete. She keeps
today's passage from Hebrews in mind: Therefore, since we are surrounded
by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that
hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with
perseverance the race marked out for us. When she runs, Rosa remembers
the men and women of faith who have gone before her, including her own
mother and father. They moved from Mexico to the United States with
nothing in their pockets, but managed to raise 11 children and live good
and faithful lives. They are, for Rosa, witnesses of what it means to
overcome life's obstacles by faith and trust in God. They have helped her
to see that when the race is tough and everything seems to be falling
apart, there is still something within her that is strengthening her,
encouraging her, and calling her to persevere.
That's also why Rosa is dreaming of something besides gold medals and
personal glory. Her highest aspirations are spiritual growth, drawing
others to the Lord, and the glorification of God in everything she does.
For Rosa, the race of faith is even more important than the Olympic
marathon. Whatever the outcome, God will be in the midst of it all, she
predicts. She may not be in the Olympics, but Rosa Gutierrez has Olympic
Faith. (Running with Vision Ministry Web Site, http://www.Runningwithvision.com,
retrieved February 9, 2004. (currently unavailable online when I
attempted to open it on 8/13/2004))
Hebrews tells us that faith is what enabled the people of God to pass
through the Red Sea, take down the walls of Jericho, conquer kingdoms,
administer justice, obtain promises, shut the mouths of lions, quench
raging fire, escape the edge of the sword, and put foreign armies to
flight. In addition, faith was seen in the lives of people who were
tortured, mocked, flogged, chained and imprisoned. Faith was evident in
folks who were stoned to death, sawn in two, and killed by the sword.
Faith sustained God's people when they were destitute, persecuted, and
tortured, and it set the stage for God's greatest work in the sacrifice
of Jesus on the cross.
This is the stuff of Olympic Faith - faith that can help us to press on
toward the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ
Jesus. This is how Paul wrote it in Philippians 3:14. This is faith that
can propel us upward when life pulls us downward; faith that helps us
move forward, when stress and conflict threaten to pull us backward.
When we crash headfirst into hardship, it's important to remember that
we're not alone. Just look at the field of athletes in Athens. There's
not an Olympian today who hasn't overcome obstacles in order to make it
into these games. They have faced injuries and personal failures, mental
and physical challenges, financial and emotional stresses. While they may
never have been tortured, mocked or flogged, although that has happened
to a few, they have certainly put themselves through struggle, strain,
challenge, and competition. They are surrounded by a great cloud of
witnesses of fellow champions, past and present. Today's competitors are
moved and motivated by the athletes all around them, as well as by the
spirit of the Olympic event itself, which has inspired people for
thousands of years.
Olympic athletes are constantly looking beyond themselves to gain
motivation, insight and ideas from their colleagues and competitors. In
the same way, Christians are inspired by the faith of God's people in
every time and place, and we can learn from the way in which our fellow
believers have dealt with hardship and suffering. Are your enemies
pursuing you? Learn from the Israelites at the Red Sea. Have you run into
a brick wall? Look to the Israelites at Jericho. Are you feeling mocked,
abused, unfairly convicted, and even crucified? Reach for Jesus, the
author and perfecter of our faith who endured the cross before
experiencing resurrection glory.
Far too often, we allow ourselves to be frustrated by failure or
hamstrung by hardship. We fail to grasp, as marathoner Rosa Gutierrez has
done, that even when the race is tough, our bodies are aching, and
everything seems to be falling apart, there is still something within us
that is strengthening us, encouraging us, and calling us to persevere.
We tap into this power by faith whenever we rely on God through every
failure, disappointment, personal hardship, or disaster. We gain access
to God's strength, encouragement, and perseverance by looking beyond
ourselves, by learning from the stories of faithful people, and by
trusting God to help us to complete our race.
Even though the persecution of the early Christian Church was not quite
as consistent or widespread as we sometimes imagine, it was very real
nonetheless. Bishop Polycarp, leader of the Church in western Asia Minor,
which is now part of Turkey, was brought into a crowded arena and
threatened with being thrown to the lions. However, the governor was more
interested in hearing Polycarp deny Christ so that he could be lenient to
him. Simply swear by Caesar. I am a Christian, said Polycarp
Then
Ill throw you to the beasts. Bring on your beasts, said Polycarp. If
you scorn the beasts, Ill have you burned. You try to frighten me with
the fire that burns for an hour and you forget the fire of hell that
never goes out. So Polycarp, praying that his death would be an
acceptable sacrifice, was burned at the stake. (Bruce Shelley, Church
History in Plain Language, Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1982, p. 52)
The Roman Emperor Nero was particularly cruel. His cruelty extended well
beyond the persecution of Christians, but he was especially cruel to them
when he sought to deflect the belief among his people that he set fire to
Rome by blaming it on the Christians. In his book on Christian history,
Bruce Shelley writes,
large numbers of Christians were arrested and a
terrible persecution followed
Some were sewn up in the skins of wild
beasts; then big dogs were let loose upon them, and they were torn to
pieces. Women were tied to mad bulls and dragged to death. After
nightfall Christians were burned at the stake in Neros garden. The Roman
people who hated the Christians were free to come into the garden, and
Nero drove around in his chariot enjoying the spectacle to the full
Public hatred, says Tertullian [another leader of the early Church],
asks but one thing, not the investigation of crimes charged, but simply
the confession of the Christian name. (Bruce Shelley, Church History in
Plain Language, Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1982, p. 56)
As the Christian church today remembers the Olympic Faith of those who
have gone before us, we can be assured that the same power of God that
encouraged them will also strengthen us. Olympic faith propels us upward
when the agonies of life threaten to pull us down. The escaping Hebrew
slaves were in a tough spot. With an impassable body of water in front of
them, they saw the dust of the pursuing Egyptian army behind them. Most
of them believed they were doomed since they saw no way out. But, through
their leaders Moses and Aaron, God revealed His redemption plan for them.
By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when
the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
Olympic faith promotes our personal best by keeping our focus outside of
ourselves. Rahab was persuaded by God that He was delivering the promised
Land to His people. At great personal risk, she prevented the king of
Jericho from finding them. By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she
welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.
Olympic faith draws us closer to Christ and to our fellow believers, and
gives us the strength we need to run the race that is set before us.
Everything that Jesus did was for our redemption. His greatest act of
mercy - his betrayal, persecution, and crucifixion - bestows upon us
salvation if we but believe. This must always be our starting point if we
are to run the race set before us. But all of Jesus teachings prior to
his suffering, which are still being taught to us today through the
Bible, are meant to help us become closer to Christ as we obey him. Let
us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for
joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at
the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such
opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose
heart.
This is the faith of athletes like Rosa Gutierrez, as she attempts to
glorify God with every step she takes. It can be our faith as well,
regardless of our place in the race. No matter what gifts we may be
exercising in the Kingdom of God, we are encouraged whenever we remember
the Olympic faith of a great cloud of witnesses. In all things and
through all things, glorify God in your race!
Rev. Charles A. Layne, pastor, First Baptist Church, Bunker Hill, IN
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