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Sunday, March 7, 2010

10,000 meter skating race

 

Part of the inspiration for last week's editorial came from the Winter Olympics and I'm going to return to that venue for today's lesson. I promise this will be the last time, at least for this year's events. But a particular incident occurred during the recently concluded Winter Games that I just can't pass up. It's not a good event, it's rather sad, especially in how it affected the two main characters involved. But, it can be used to teach us a great spiritual lesson about where we put our trust. Here's what happened......

The event was the 10,000 meter skating race and the favorite to win was a member of the Dutch team by the name of Sven Kramer. He had progressed through all of the "heat" races and was skating for the gold medal in the "finals." Many of you may have watched this race on TV (or other skating races) and noticed that in the "distance" races, the skaters are required to exchange lanes at certain laps throughout the race for the purpose of making the race fair to both competitors.

Digress here for a moment and imagine if you can, just how much work and training, not to mention talent and ability, went into his preparation in order to reach this level of competition. Years and years is probably the most descriptive to this picture. Years of physical sacrifice on his part with the culmination of it all being this race. Okay, back to the race.....

Sven was in the process of changing from the inside lane to the outside when he saw his coach motioning and telling him to go to the inside lane. Here is where we start getting into the part of this story that applies to our lesson. He believed what his coach was telling him. That he was correct in staying in the inside lane. Long story short - he wasn't.

Sadly, he finished the race in first place. Supposedly winning the gold medal and setting a new Olympic record in doing so. But you know what happened, don't you? He was disqualified because he didn't follow the rules. He did not make the lane change when he was supposed to do so. Oh yeah, the coach was at fault, but he wasn't skating the race. But, because of his words and actions, Sven Kramer did not receive his reward.

Can you see where this lesson is headed? I was pretty sure that you would. Don't you think that our young skater represents all of those who are competing in the "race of life" and are following the "coaching" of someone leading them in the "wrong lane," parabolically speaking? That those following, oh let's call them "false coaches," will face the same result as our skater? Disqualification? No reward for all of the efforts they may have put forth "religious-wise?"

And the coach, that too is a sad situation. Not only did he bring to ruin all of the work of his skater, he brought career destruction upon himself too. Do you think that he will be trusted any more by other skaters? Maybe this sounds somewhat harsh, but I see him as now being like ancient Israel was once described; "a hiss and a byword." (1Kgs. 9:7-8).

And here's another lesson presented to us by the coach and the skater. Both of them sincerely thought that they were right. The coach in giving directions to the skater and the skater in following them. But, when the race was over, all of the sincerity in the world did not change the outcome, did it? Both were still wrong and paid a severe and painful penalty for it.

Sincerity is not the criteria for salvation. Is not the criteria for receiving the reward, the "gold medal," if you will. Obedience to the rules is the criteria. The judges there at the Olympics had no choice in the matter. Even though he thought he was right, he wasn't and, sincere or not, was disqualified.

This same principle applies to our "competition." Our "race of life." When we finish it, what determines whether we receive the reward, the crown, is whether we were obedient to the rules. The Olympic judges made their judgment according to the rules of the game. Our Judge, the "righteous Judge" (2Tim. 4:8) will judge us by His rules. In John 12:48 we find that His Rules are "the words spoken by Christ" IE: The Gospel. It is on that basis alone that we reach the grace of God. That we either receive the reward or we are "disqualified."

In conclusion: our skater, Sven Kramer, trusted in his coach and it cost him his medal. The coach trusted in his own judgment and it cost him his reputation. The basic problem here is that "trust" was placed in humans and we all know just how fallible human beings are, don't we? Jeremiah tells us that "cursed are those who place their trust in human beings who rely on human strengths......But Blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence." (Jer. 17:5 and 7) NLT

Ron Covey

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