Editorial for February 16, 2006
By Jim White
Like millions of other Americans, I have been watching the winter Olympics. I have been looking for an athlete with whom I can identify. You know, mid-50s, out of shape and in need of shedding a few pounds.
Quite a few, actually. So far, not many of them remind me of myself (except in my younger years, of course). According to health care weight-height ratios, I weigh exactly what I should. The problem is I’m about six inches shorter than I need to be.
This year, beyond cheering for our countrymen and women, I have been drawing parallels between the Olympics and the church. My wife feels better about my spending hours in front of the television when she understands that I’m engaged in spiritual activity. Besides that, the church has a lot to learn.
I am struck first by how “in shape” the athletes are. Their sculpted and statuesque bodies reflect the discipline of rigorous training. Every part of their bodies has been impacted by their purpose. Even the shape of their bodies reflects their purpose. The massive thighs of speed skaters developed over time to push them down the ice and to sustain their speed through the course of the race. The body develops according to the purpose of the athlete.
The application is elementary. Christ, the head of the church body, has a purpose in mind. In one sense, the rigorous discipline of the Christian life creates a body “in shape” to achieve the assignments of the great commission. But each church may also be shaped by the specific purpose Christ has for it.
I have also been inspired by the athletes’ stories. Though they come from different backgrounds, the common element in each life is they were willing to sacrifice whatever was re-quired to achieve their goal. They were willing to endure the pain of extreme exertion for the sake of excelling. For each of the athletes, the road to the Olympics wound through the passes of perspiration and perseverance before it led to the plateaus of promise and the peak of the prize. In short, each of them was willing to pay the price achievement exacts. No pain, no gain.
Again, the parallel to the church is obvious. Words like sacrifice and suffering are spoken by every church. The disciplines of sacrifice and suffering are practiced by the victorious ones.
Though competition is intensely personal, Team America gathered in Torino not merely as a collection of individuals out for personal glory but also as goodwill ambassadors assembled to represent their country. The team consists of the athletes, of course, but also the countless others whose ambitions are to see someone else receive a gold medal. This is unselfishness personified. One man is on the team to wax his skier’s skis. Another is along to hone the ski edges to exacting specifications. How well they employ their crafts will play a part in the overall success of their athlete. They will not receive a gold medal for their work. They are not the up-front people whose names and pictures will appear in Time, Newsweek and the Religious Herald, but their sacrificial labors will contribute a part to the whole.
In sports, when performance is often measured in hundredths of seconds, Olympians know that even a little thing like wind resistance can mean the difference between bringing home a medal and watching others receive the prize. They are determined to eliminate anything that can hold them back. Their suits and helmets are designed in laboratories and tested in wind tunnels to slice through the air with the least amount of resistance possible. These technological advantages are developed by nerds who have made their own sacrifices to become world class. Their gifts, too, must figure into the success mix.
Paul the Apostle wasn’t an expert on wind resistance, but he knew that anything holding us back has to be eliminated. He wrote, “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. Let us fix out eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1b-2, NIV).
The church, too, is made up of individuals. To each has been entrusted a key to the success of the whole. Some are up-front, stand-on-the-platform people whose names and faces are recognized in the community. When the church succeeds in its mission, they are usually the ones who receive the attention and congratulations. Their efforts are often nothing short of heroic. Typically, it is their vision that ignites the fire of passion in those around them.
But the truth is, just as in the Olympics, there are many others who have labored and sacrificed so that the church, and the Kingdom, might be triumphant.
The church has a lot to learn; but even more important, the church has a lot to teach. How successful we are will depend, in no small measure, on our compelling vision, our pervasive purpose, our disciplined training, our sustained sacrifice, our capacity to endure suffering, and our individual willingness to offer our spiritual gifts to advance the Kingdom. Someday, Christ will award us the gold.