Spiritual Olympics at Epiphany on July 13, 2008

1 Corinthians 9:26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.

The Focused Athlete

When the runner from Tanzania limped into the Olympic Stadium, it had been hours since the winner of the marathon had received his Olympic gold medal. The stands were almost empty and the fans had moved on to more interesting events. Bleeding and bandaged from a fall earlier in the race, the runner limped into the arena. The small part of the crowd that was still in the amphitheatre cheered him on as he crossed the finish line.

Later, the runner was asked, “Why did you stay in the race once you had lost? Why did you risk causing injury to your leg?” “Simple,” the runner replied, “My country did not send me 7000 miles to start the race. They sent me 7000 miles to finish it.”

That Olympic runner had a goal. It wasn’t really to win the race. It was to endure and finish the race.

What kind of goals do you have? Some small, minor goals might be graduating, getting a raise, buying a car that gets better gas mileage, or using your stimulus check for a new, HD flat screen TV. Maybe your goals are to make the team or get married or get in shape or make enough money to live comfortably. Someone said that his goal was just to make it to Friday.

Whatever these goals are in life, whatever you are trying to achieve, it will all end one day when you pass away. What will you have achieved? What will you have in your possession? Nothing. Saint Paul once said, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men” (1 Corinthians 15:19).

The apostle Paul had some small goals, too. They included recovering from an illness he called his “thorn in the flesh.” Another goal was to make it to Spain to do mission work. He had the goal of getting out of the Roman prison to visit his friends in the Philippian congregation.

But the apostle Paul had a much bigger goal in life. This goal far surpassed anything else he wanted to accomplish. That goal was to reach heaven. To receive the gift of eternal salvation which Jesus had won for him. To be crowned the champion through faith in his Savior.

In a number of his epistles to Christian congregations, Paul used athletic imagery to describe the life and goals of Christians. He is comparing Christians to Olympic athletes competing in the games. His words go beyond mere games. He is teaching us lessons about faith and life and eternal life. Today he is teaching us about being focused athletes.

Paul had a very clear focus for his life when he said, “Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.” (1 Corinthians 9:26) He did not run aimlessly around the track. He didn’t beat the air swinging at nothing. He spent his life, his health, and his wealth focused on the goal of crossing the finish life and arriving in heaven.

Coach Paul is instructing you to remain focused. Avoid distractions. The Olympic athletes competing in Beijing, China, later this summer will have plenty of distractions. The Olympics are one hundred percent about distractions. Dara Torres, is a 41-year-old mom, who is one of the fastest swimmers alive. She is competing amidst a media swirl of distractions and detractors wondering if she is taking performance-enhancing drugs. The extreme pollution in Beijing is a huge distraction as the athletes. Some countries’ athletes won’t arrive for the Olympics until the day before their event, in order to avoid potential respiratory problems. The Communist politics and human rights violations can be a distraction as the Olympics becomes more about politics than competition.

The Olympic athletes have to remain focused. They’re athletes. Twelve hours a day, they’re pumping iron or working a gymnastic routine or swimming laps in a pool. And if they’re smart, they will forget the sponsor deals, the partying, and the politics.

They will remain focused on the goal of standing on the podium, hearing their country’s national anthem and receiving a gold meal around their neck. They have to make a decision. Are they athletes or business people? Are they Olympians or politicians? If they are going to be the best on the planet at what they do, then they have to avoid all distractions.

Life on this earth is one hundred percent about distractions. Working to support your family, golfing or fishing for relaxation, vacationing with your family, catching up on your rest, are all great and necessary things in life. But they are also huge distractions. If work, relaxation or rest keep you from worshiping your Lord, then they are distractions. Reading the newspaper, searching the internet, watching the news are all great ways to gain information and build your general knowledge. But if they replace the time you should be spending reading your Bible, catching up on the Lord’s news and gaining Christian knowledge, then they are distractions. Anger, depression, worry, gossip, and fear, are all distractions to living the confident Christian life. Chasing all over for our children’s athletics, high gas and food prices, the poor housing market, a slow economy, are just part of life. But they can also become huge distractions. They lead us to focus on this life instead of focusing on the life to come.

We have to decide. Are we people of the world or people of Christ? Are we going to live like God’s children or like everybody else? Since we are called as God’s saints, we must avoid all distractions.

Beth was a great cross country runner. In one race, she was the front runner on a new course. She allowed herself to be distracted by her cheering family. She missed a turn in the course and headed off in the wrong direction. After a minute, she realized that she was lost and she began to panic. She ran one way and then another, trying to find the course markers. In the process, she went from first to last, and ended up sitting and crying on the grass.

If we allow ourselves to become distracted we can lose our way. When we are distracted from worshiping our God, then guilt sets in. When we are distracted from strengthening our faith in Bible study, we become weak and are easy prey for Satan’s temptations. When we are distracted by the pleasures or distracted by the annoyances of the world, that is when anger, depression, and frustrations set in. We take our eyes off the finish line of heaven. We begin to look around at what this world has to offer. We lose our way. And we never make it to heaven.

This is not what Jesus wants for us. Jesus has already gained the victory for us. Coach Paul reminds, “[God] gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor 15:57) He has already won the race. He is standing on the podium waiting for us. He has the gold medal ready to place around our neck and the crown of victory ready to place on our head. His international anthem of “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty” is already being sung by the cherubim and seraphim. The saints and angels are lined along the streets of gold cheering you on.

We cannot win heaven on our own. Winning heaven for us would be as possible as you running a two-minute mile or shooting 18 holes-in-one or pole vaulting 50 feet. They are impossible. But with God, all things are possible. Jesus won heaven for us. Now it is waiting for us.

Trainer Moses persuades, “For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.” (Deut 20:4) Instructor David encourages, “With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies.” (Ps 60:12) When you fall, Jesus will lift you up. When temptations come your way, Jesus can smack them away. When you fail, Jesus will forgive. When you trip, Jesus will give you triumph. When you hurt, Jesus can heal. When you are afraid, Jesus will give you courage. When you are weak, Jesus gives you his strength. When it seems like you are going through hell on earth, Jesus focuses your attention on the heaven that is awaiting you after this earth.

Victory over the unholy trinity of the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh comes only through faith in Jesus Christ. By the waters of Baptism the Christian is born anew into this victory. By receiving the body and blood of Jesus in Holy Communion, the victory is reinforced and celebrated. By feeding on the Word of the Savior, the Christian not only receives assurance of eternal life in heaven but also gains power for daily victorious living.

Some of you were at the Shoreland Pacer Golf Open on Friday. You weren’t really there to win it all. With standing water on the course, narrow fairways, lots of trees, water in the sand traps, mosquitoes, 80 plus degrees, humidity, and 7 hours on the golf course, most of us weren’t trying to win. We were just trying to endure, trying to survive. We wanted to get to the really good stuff back at the high school – shrimp, steak, ribs, liquid refreshments, and Christian fellowship.

The Christian life isn’t about winning the prize. It is about knowing that the prize of heaven has already been won for us through Jesus Christ, God’s perfect athlete. Our life is now about enduring, surviving, persisting, until we reach that final goal of dwelling in the house of the Lord forever, sitting around the banquet table of our Lord, and enjoying the company of the saints and angels for eternity.

Think back on Paul. He never felt sorry for the path he had chosen but was willing to give up his own life for that purpose. “However, I considered my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me –the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace” (Acts 20:24).

Florence Chadwick was the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions. At age 34, her goal was to become the first woman to swim from Catalina Island to the California coast. It was July 1952 and the conditions were terrible. The sea was cold as ice, the fog was so thick she could hardly see her support boats, while her support crew were armed with rifles to ward off sharks and words of encouragement to inspire her.

For hour upon hour she swam on, until she did something she'd never done before. She quit. Interviewed later, she told a reporter, "Look, I'm not excusing myself, but if I could have seen land I might have made it."  It was the fog that defeated Florence. The fog meant she was unable to see her goal. Two months later, she tried again. This time, despite the same dense fog, she made it. Not only did Florence Chadwick become the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel, she beat the men's record by two hours! This time Florence knew that her goal lay somewhere behind that fog, even if she couldn't see it.

We cannot yet see the goal of heaven. It lies somewhere beyond the fog of this world. Yet, if you remain focused, you will find it. Your paradise is just on the other shore.

“Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.” Someone running aimlessly may be busy, but they are accomplishing little that will help reach the goal. Stop today and examine your life. Are you running aimlessly or with a purpose? Are you beating the air or fighting Satan? Are you distracted by the pleasures or annoyances of this world or are you focused on the world to come?

If you want to make your life more meaningful, trust in the victory of Christ Jesus in all aspects of your life. Focus on the goal of heaven. Then, you will not run aimlessly but truly have a purpose. Endure and finish the race. You are Christ’s focused athlete. Amen.