Gospel Gold Medalists (Pt. 1) - Sharing in Christ’s Triumph Without Excuses

Philippians 1:27-30

27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel 28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. 29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, 30 since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

The summer Olympics are here! Normally, I don’t love watching sports (my husband’s volleyball team or son’s soccer team are the exception). It doesn’t matter the level. The fact is, watching strangers, even ones that are really good at what they do, play a game just doesn’t interest me.

Except for the Olympics. Maybe it’s because the Olympics only happen every four years per season. Maybe it’s the hype of being the best in the world. Maybe it’s just the way the world comes together in a way they can’t seem to for anything else.

Whatever it is, I look forward to it. As I am writing this, the opening ceremony is on in the background. The countries’ boats have all gone through, and now the vocal artists have the stage.

Can you imagine how hard these athletes have worked to get here? I can barely keep it together to work out for a full week, and these guys work out hours a day, every day, for years. YEARS!

I will never be an Olympic athlete. That ship has sailed along with my good knees and youthful back; however, there is another gold medal worth pursuing with the same fervor, dedication, and sacrifice as an Olympian pursues her sport – the gold medal in the gospel of Christ.

Ok, that isn’t technically a real thing, but hear me out.

What if we treated it like it were a real thing? I don’t know about you, but all too often, I neglect ‘strengthening’ and ‘training’ in my faith. It becomes something I work on every now and then, when I happen to have a spare minute, rather than something every breath of my existence is striving for.

What if, instead of that casual approach to Christianity, we all took an Olympian’s approach? I’m talking about the all-stars like Katie Ledecky and Simone Biles. We know Christ wins, right? We know when the game is done, Christ gets the only spot on the podium. The question is, when that time comes, will we get to say we are on his team?

Will we have contributed to the team’s efforts?

Of course we want that! But where do we start?

The verses in Philippians give us a great place.

Paul shares two goals in verse 27: 1 - “to conduct [ourselves] in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” and 2 - to “stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together.”

For goal one, we need to look like Christ. If we are conducting ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, we act as Christ did. It’s the old-school WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) bracelet all over again. In any given situation, are we responding and behaving as Christ would in that situation?

Goal two naturally follows if we are doing goal one. If we are on the same team, then we look like we are on the same team. When team USA floated down the Seine in the opening ceremony, they all had on their Ralph Lauren blazers. Their uniforms let everyone know they were team USA.

I am sure some of them didn’t love the cut or color of the clothes they wore, but they all wore it. Why? Because they are on a TEAM. They are unified in one goal: Winning the gold.

Brothers and sisters, so are we. We don’t put on a physical uniform, but together, we are united in pursuing our goal — glorifying Christ. You don’t get to do your own thing if you want to be on Christ’s team. You do his thing. Put on the metaphorical uniform and ACT like you are on the team.

A high school athlete might go to practice every afternoon for a couple of hours. A college athlete might add another hour or two on top of that. But an Olympian? Their day is broken up by the small sections of time when they aren’t training.

Would you believe Katie Ledecky to be an Olympian swimmer if you never saw her in a pool? No. That’s ludicrous. Olympians, if they are Olympians, act like Olympians. Likewise, Christians, if they are, in fact, Christians, act like Christians.

What do Christians act like? In Mark 12:28-35, Jesus tells us they love God and love others. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus tells us they make disciples. We could add more, of course, but Jesus himself sums up everything pretty nicely, I think.

Take a second and reflect. Are you wearing the right ‘uniform’? Do you look like you are on team Christ? Do your actions show you love God? What about others? Are you loving them as much as you love yourself? What about disciples? Are you making any? Are you teaching others about Christ and how to be on his team?

If not, you might not be on the right team. Or maybe you are still on the bench and haven’t made it on the floor yet.

These things aren’t optional. Athletes on a team don’t get to pick what drills they do or when they practice. The coach does that.

Remember, it’s not your team. It’s His. So, if you want to be on His team, you do what He says to do. Period. No excuses.

In my next blog, I’ll look a little more at the verses above and delve into how to avoid the excuses that might sideline us as Christians.

It’s time to quit your excuses and get in the game!