The Thrill of Victory

Did you see it?  Tell me you didn't miss it.

Flashback to 1972.  Munich.  Jim McKay anchors from the press box as Mark Spitz does the unprecedented, the unfathomable.  Seven gold medals.  Impossible!  It was an Olympics to remember.  (Trust me, those of you who weren't born yet, it was.)

But aren't they all?  I just remember that one so well because I was a swimmer, and Mark Spitz was my greatest hero of all time.  The reality is, our family watched Jim McKay week in and week out on the ABC Wide World of Sports.  Can't you just picture that skiier wiping out big time during the intro, week after week?  (Yes, Dave, you can, can't you?)  We just couldn't get enough.  And I still can't.  I just love a hard-fought victory.

Athleticism.  Sportsmanship.  They both showed up in all their glory Sunday night in Beijing. So did you? Did you see Jason Lezak come from behind with a pretty much miracle performance to beat the French team who had promised to smash the Americans?  Michael Phelps may get his eight gold medals, but one of them belongs to the sheer determination of Jason Lezak, who overcame the agony of previous defeats to prevail.

And did you see our guys afterwards?  Yes, they were fueled by comments of the French, but they were so classy about it in the interviews.  I don't ever remember enjoying a race or a medal ceremony more.

Yes, I was a swimmer.  I know what it is to be totally committed to my sport.  (Oh wait, gotta go see Rebecca Soni swim the 200 breaststroke finals....I'm back--she won her first gold medal. World record!  Yea!!  Gives me goosebumps.)  It taught me the discipline and focus I needed to be a totally committed follower of Christ. (When the Olympics aren't on TV.)  The apostle Paul used athletic imagery several times in his writings. This is one of my favorites, from 1 Corinthians 9:24-25:

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?

 Run in such a way as to get the prize.

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. 

They do it to get a crown that will not last; 

but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

And there's this one, Hebrews 12:1:

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.

And finally, Lord please qualify me to make this declaration from 2 Timothy 4:7-8 my own as I reach the ultimate finish line:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  

Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, 

which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--

and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

"This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith."  1 John 5:4