Go for Gold
Day 36
CONSIDER
Let’s face it: we’re captivated. Every two years, alternating summer and winter, the attention of
millions of people the world over is riveted to television screens as we watch Olympic athletes compete
for gold and glory. Impressive feats abound, records are broken, medals are won, national pride soars.
Yet as impressive as the victories are, for many viewers the stories of sacrifice that athletes
make to become Olympians are just as riveting as the competition itself. One thinks of the first-ever
Filipino figure skater Michael Martinez who received no financial support from his government, forcing
his parents to mortgage their house to fund his training. Or Polish cross-country skier Justyna Kowalczyk,
who won gold in the 10km event in 2014 with a fractured foot (“medals first,” she said, “health
second”). And who could forget Russian figure skating legend Evgeny Plushenko, who had a disc in his
spine surgically replaced after multiple injuries (“I had to learn walking anew; getting out of bed”). But a
year later he helped his team win gold before bowing out of individual competition due to back pain.
What’s Worth It?
These stories capture the imagination! Even if we wouldn’t make the same decision these
athletes did had we been in their place, we can’t deny the compelling draw of a person who lays
valuable things on the line in order to achieve what they hold to be an even greater goal.
Could it be that we find such stories captivating because they speak to something deep
within the human heart? We’re hard-wired to recognize that there is honor in sacrificing what
is good to attain what is best. We might disagree about what counts as “best;” maybe I
wouldn’t put my own house – or my spine! – on the line for an Olympic medal. Yet it may not
be the act of sacrifice itself that I really disagree with. The only difference may be in the
perceived value of the greater goal: to me, a medal isn’t worth more than, say, my health.
There is honor
in sacrificing
what is good
to attain what
is best
But that raises an important question for every Christian: is anything worth great sacrifice? Is
there anything so incredibly valuable that it does make sense to give up lesser things in order to attain
it? The Bible indicates that there is, and it urges Christians to give up a less worthy life in order to fully
experience the ultimate life that can only be found in Jesus.
PART 1 - READ
Begin your time today by reading 2 Timothy 2
Avoid Life of Settling
The Apostle Paul writes this letter to Timothy, a younger pastor whom Paul had mentored. He
urges Timothy to avoid settling for mediocrity, but rather to live a life worthy of the calling of Jesus. He
provides Timothy with three word pictures in verses 3-7: a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer. Each works
hard and sacrifices in order to achieve a greater payoff later. These are models for how a Christian
should approach his/her own life.
And what’s the greater payoff Paul has in mind? Verses 8-13 come right to the point: it is
eternal life in Jesus! What could be greater than God, incarnate in human flesh, miraculously risen from
the dead, and enthroned in eternal glory in heaven? This is the glory which Christians will partake in
along with Jesus! There is nothing in this temporary, sin-stained world that is not worth sacrificing for so
great a life.
Paul urges Timothy to strive to be the best servant of God he can be. He notes that in a typical
household there were plain utensils for common use and much more valuable utensils for honorable
uses, implying that many of God’s people are fairly “common” in God’s sight and urging Timothy to be
one of those shining, valuable servants of whom God is especially proud.
How? By living a morally pure life, denying excessive entanglements with the things of this world
that divert so much of the energy and attention of so many of God’s people. By doing so, Timothy would
be making himself “a vessel for honorable use” (v. 21) and bringing great pleasure to the greatest being
in the universe. And he would find that no sacrifice is so great that it outweighs that eternal pleasure!
MAJOR BIBLICAL THEMES
Faith
This passage makes an important contribution to the Bible’s core theme of salvation by faith
rather than by works. Historically, one of the most common misunderstandings of the gospel of grace is
that our lifestyle doesn’t matter: since no one can out-sin the grace of God, and since no one is saved
because of his own good living, any talk of doing good deeds for God runs the risk of polluting the
Gospel. Or so the thinking goes.
Yet this passage is one of many in the New Testament that repeatedly call Christians to excel in
good, moral living. Such morality is a way to lay firm hold on the gift of salvation that was given to us by
grace alone, and good works are the natural outworking of seeing the beauty and worth of Jesus
(Ephesians 2:8-10). As has often been said: faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is never alone.
The only rational response to seeing the beauty of the grace of God in Christ is to sacrifice everything in
order to live in a manner worthy of the Gospel!
PART 2 - REFLECT AND CONNECT
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What is your ultimate goal in life?
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Consider your choices and reactions over the past week or so – do they support the goal you
stated above or do they suggest another goal?
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What changes could you make to bring your life more in line with the goal Paul set for Timothy
when he challenged him to pursue those things that would make him an honorable vessel, “set
apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for good work?” (2 Timothy 2:19)
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Do you find it difficult in any way to reject a works-based salvation, yet strive hard after holiness
in your life? ____________________________________________________________________
If so, what makes it difficult for you? If not, how do you prevent one idea from overruling the
other?
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As your time comes to a close today, choose one or both of the following suggestions below as
your worship response.
o
Watch Facing A Task Unfinished by Keith & Kristyn Getty (copy and paste the following
link into your browser https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYxQok6cPA&feature=youtu.be or search Youtube for “Getty Facing a Task Unfinished
Official Lyric Video”)
o
Prayer:
Every new duty calls for more grace than I possess,
But not more than is found in thee, the divine treasury in whom all fullness dwells.
To thee I repair for grace upon grace,
Until every void made by sin be replenished and I am fill with thy fullness.
Do thou be with me, and prepare me for all the smiles of prosperity, the frowns of
adversity, the losses of substance, the death of friends, the days of darkness, the changes
of life, and the last great change of all.
All for the sake of the Gospel, Amen
PART 3 - Respond
Please use the space below to respond to today’s prompt (or use one of your own).
My lifestyle matters because…
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