The Moment of Truth

Athletes can train for years to prepare for a race. Then, in a matter of seconds, it’s all over.  Many years of preparation can come down to a single moment of truth.  If an athlete is victorious, it has been proven to the spectators (and themselves) that the years of effort have not been wasted. 

The life of Christianity is similar to the life of an athlete.  There will be years of training, setbacks and heartaches.  If we persevere, God will arrange a demonstration of our spiritual strength in one of life’s many events.  It will be our moment of truth - our turn to face Goliath.  Often, the time we have to show the world the ‘glory of God’ is over in a heart beat.  It could be simply a small window of opportunity - to say or do the right thing at the exact moment when it is most needed.  However, we can relax; God knows when we are spiritually strong enough to be victorious.  At that time, He will bring many spectators to watch our moment of truth so they can witness our years of faith in Him have been well justified.

Christian Little League

If you have watched young children play sport, you soon observe that they can be placed in two general categories.  The enthusiastic children who eagerly chase the ball then kick it without thinking.  The procrastinating children who see the ball coming and think maybe they should do something. After the ball passes, they are then certain they should have.

When we first become Christians, we can generally be placed into two categories - those who act and seldom think, and those who think but seldom act.
This is natural behaviour for the ‘Christian Little League’.  However, changes occur the longer we stay in the Christian game.  As we attain a fuller understanding of the rules and continually practice the spiritual skills, our actions and thoughts start to synchronize until they become one.  Then, it is only a matter of time before God signs those ‘skillful Christian athletes’ up to face the Big League.

Athletes in Life

An athlete is a physically powerful person who competes or excels in sports.  They are admired by many for their great speed, strength, stamina, skill, beautiful bodies, health, riches and fame.  It is very easy to understand why so many young people look up to athletes and say, ‘I want to be just like them.’

Christians should be spiritually powerful people who excel in the Sport-of-Life.  In times of adversity they should be poised, strong, tranquil and relaxed.  In times of prosperity: graceful, compassionate and considerate.  Their marriages should be the living examples of joy, their family lives an example of team-unity and their personal lives a reflection of Christ’s strength.  When people observe the lives of Christians they should see an inner strength which they themselves lack and greatly desire in their lives. 
Sadly, this is not the case.  Most people witness Christians who are breaking under adversity, whinging and moaning in prosperity and being judgmental instead of gracious.  Then they conclude, ‘There is nothing Christians possess that I could possibly want.  I am a much better Life-Athlete than them.’

Jumping Hurdles

Horses can be very reluctant to jump hurdles.  In the sport of show jumping, riders train them by initially placing the pole very low.  Each time the horse shies from a hurdle, the patient rider brings the reluctant horse back to try again.  With encouragement, eventually the horse will jump.  When the rider sees their horse confidently meeting each challenge, they will raise the pole and continue to encourage their horse to conquer the course that is set before them. 

God is training us to overcome the course He has set before us.  He has planned a spiritual journey for each of us, which entails crossing into many fields of endeavour.  The problem is, each field is separated by an obstacle and before we enter a new field, we must jump the hurdle.  There are many hurdles to overcome as we advance in our spiritual lives.  These hurdles cover an infinite variety of different things (usually personal issues of which only you and God are aware), but these hurdles are a barrier to your advancement.  God will lead us to each hurdle and encourage us to jump.  He knows our ability and will never direct us to a hurdle that is too high.  Like horses, we shy away at times and even buck God off (reject God’s plan).  But when we allow God back on the saddle, He will lead us to that same hurdle time and time again. 
On the day we finally overcome that obstacle, we will find God has led us into a fresh field of endeavour, with even further fields in sight.  He will patiently lead us over to our next hurdle, encouraging us on to spiritual greatness.

Marksmen

A marksman is defined as one skilled in accurate shooting – a person who shoots with great skill.

We are all marksmen, each aiming at our own goals and objectives.  Some people are better at hitting their mark than others.
As marksmen, we can go through life shooting at our own targets (sometimes hitting and sometimes missing) - or we have the choice of handing our arrows to God.
When God starts overshooting our targets, we can’t be blamed to think He has missed the mark.  But God is a perfect marksman and never misses.  Someday, we will come to realise He was never aiming at our target - but a target far beyond our range of vision.  As we pass it, we will see God hit the target squarely in the centre.
Mankind is often too near-sighted to see the targets of an eternal God.  Sometimes our arrows (purpose in life) will hit the mark (bare fruit) long after we are dead.  On handing our arrows to God we should keep in mind that just because we can’t see where God sent our arrow, doesn’t mean He didn’t hit the target.

Running the Victory Lap

When a winning athlete is granted a victory lap, it is a very joyous occasion.  As the athlete runs slowly around the arena, proudly displaying their country’s flag, he or she is on an emotional high, smiling and waving to the crowd.

Christ was victorious at the cross.  However, he didn’t hang around for his victory lap. Instead, he said he was heading off to build us all a mansion in Heaven.  While he is away, he has asked us to do the victory lap.
As Christians, our lives should reflect the joyful-athlete running the victory lap.  When we run around the ‘Arena of Life’ facing its tests and trials, we should do it with the full knowledge that the race has already been won.  We should run proud and carefree, holding high the flag of Christ for everyone to see.  When the crowd see our joyful-life, even under pressure, and see the flag we are holding, they will know to whom the victory belongs.  Happiness is contagious and everyone wants to celebrate with a winner.

Seas of Circumstance

Our body is like a boat and we are its Captain.
We sail through life on the Seas of Circumstance.
It is up to us in which direction we head. 
There will be many waves with Crests of Exhilaration and Troughs of Depression.
Luckily, the Winds of Grace are always blowing.
However, many of us pull down our Sails of Faith, reach for our Oars of Craving and row straight onto the Reef of Distraction.  

Body Building

A strong body requires the right food and exercise.  If the proper food is not eaten, we will eventually become physically sick.  Lack of exercise will delay muscle growth.  Soon, our muscles will lose their elasticity and even the smallest weights will become too heavy for our puny muscles to bear.

Our physical life mirrors our spiritual life.  We must eat the right food (the Word of God) - this gives us spiritual energy.  We must use this energy to exercise.  The trials and pressures of life build and test our spiritual strength.  The more we exercise the more spiritual muscle we build (Faith, Christ-like Love and Spiritual Confidence).   The greater the spiritual muscle – the greater the capacity to handle pressure, adversity and prosperity.
However, if we stop taking in the right spiritual food, we will soon have no spiritual energy and become spiritually sick.  When this occurs, we won’t feel like exercising.  If we stop exercising, our muscles will shrivel and lose all their flexibility.  Before long, we will become inflexible and the smallest adversities will become too much for our puny spiritual muscles to bear.

Playing within the Boundary

When playing sport, we are free to move anywhere as long as the ball is kept within the boundaries.  When the ball goes over the boundary line it is no longer in play and a whistle is blown.  Any goal scored from out-of-bounds is not counted.

God has given us freedom to pursue many pleasures.  As long as we keep within the boundary lines, these pleasures will continue to bring enjoyment and be beneficial.  If we cross the line, God blows the whistle of repercussions.
Sex was designed to be pleasurable within the boundaries of marriage.  A glass of wine can be both enjoyable and beneficial but we are out-of-bounds when drunk.  Sport, social life, travel, shopping, and learning are all legitimate pleasures - a gift from God for us to enjoy; however, when any of these pleasures turn into an obsession and become more important than our pursuit of God we have crossed the boundary line and God is forced to blow His whistle.  The repercussions may take the form of a nasty hangover, a venereal disease, bankruptcy, a breakup or even a breakdown.   When we hear the warning whistle, we must quickly bring the ball back to the field (get back in fellowship) before God is forced to take us completely out of the game. 

Navigating the Rapids

Canoeing can be a very pleasant experience - as long as we don’t tip over.  After learning to paddle we can direct our own course.  On gaining experience, we can even paddle safely down rapids – a very exhilarating experience.  However, if we should fall out of our canoe, we are instantly at the mercy of the currents and have no control over where we are swept.

Every person is adrift on the vast ‘River of Life’.  Sometimes the water is calm and tranquil, while at other times it’s a raging torrent of rapids and waterfalls.  When we first become Christians (born-again) we are given ‘Spiritual Life’ (a canoe) to enable us to navigate (understand spiritual truths).  However, when we sin, we fall out of fellowship.  To get back into our canoe and remain upright (in fellowship in our Spiritual Life) we must name our sins (privately) to God, (see 1 John 1:9).   God will then cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  Once back in fellowship (upright in our canoe) we are filled with the Holy Spirit and ready to learn more Biblical truths.  To advance in the Spiritual Life, we must use our free-will (paddles) to apply the truths and promises we understand.  This is what gives us momentum and control in our lives. 
If we remain upright in the Spiritual Life and use our volition to apply promises, God will direct us to successfully navigate life’s treacherous spots.  Alternatively, if we fall out of fellowship and don’t upright ourselves (by applying 1 John 1:9) it won’t be long before we are swept uncontrollably down the ‘Rapids of Life’.

Sporting Heroes

Every sporting event has its heroes.  A sporting hero is simply a person who manages to do the right thing at the right time in the right place. 

‘Life’ is an event greater than any ‘sporting event’ and we are participants.  Life also has its heroes - spiritual heroes.  Every Christian has a shot at being a spiritual hero and as long as we’re alive we’re still in the game.  All that is required is to do the right thing at the right time in the right place.  Miraculously, two of those elements have already been taken care of.  Whether we agree with God or not, we are born at the right time in the right place.  Now, all we have to do is the right thing - and that is choosing God’s plan over our own plan. 
In a sporting event, a player has only a split second to make a right decision.  A split-second is the difference between becoming a hero or remaining a nobody.  Compared to ‘eternity’ our ‘life’ is but a split-second.  Let us hope, when time has run out and our innings is over, that we don’t eternally regret dropping the ball.