“Then Agrippa said unto Paul, ‘Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian’ “(Acts 26:28). KJV
The spirit of this year’s Olympic Games has lit a fire in the hearts and minds of people around the world. While the intensity and commitment of the athletes may be evident in the sweat on their brow, the excitement of fans shows in the broad smiles and wild applause as the events unfold. Anticipation, expectancy, and suspense culminate in victory for individual and team performances, while inspiring some to act out their own imaginary Olympics first in their heads and then in their own homes. One adventuresome woman in a tv clip—not looking particularly in the best athletic form—gingerly lowers herself into the backyard pool to begin her swimming event. After first shaking off the water’s chill, she does a slow crawl stroke across the pool to the other side and with a big smile for the camera asks, “How did I do?” Everyone dreams of being a winner, but alas...Another woman, obviously a gymnastics fan, is shown leaping and dancing around her kitchen enjoying the moment until her attempt to do a split, ends about one- third of the way down to the floor, with a painful grimace on her face as she clutches the sink to pull herself back to a standing position. That floor routine needs a lot of work!
“Almost.” It so often describes a sad ending to a hopeful beginning. That truth is particularly sad when it comes to how we engage with our greatest competition in the cosmic battle for our souls: Man vs. Satan. His Hebrew name in translation means “adversary.” Adam failed to resist, Satan failed to flee, and sin thus infected God’s glorious creation so that today we are all judged to have fallen short of God’s glory (Rom. 3:23). Since Satan knows he is powerless to defeat God, today he still contends with people of faith to prevent us from winning the prize Paul speaks about in I Cor.9:24-27. We are urged to run to get the prize. Faith wins the victory. Ps.60:12 says, “With God we will gain the victory...” How? I Cor.15:57 explains that it is God who makes the rules and Who enforces them righteously: “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Because our righteous Judge never makes mistakes, we can trust Him to deliver justice when life’s race is over. One heart-breaking moment in the Olympics came when Jordan Chiles’ coach challenged the judges and won reconsideration of Jordan’s score, making her the bronze medalist by one-tenth of a point instead of the Romanian gymnast who had for a brief moment been named the winner. She was crushed, but Jordan was ecstatic. “Almost” left victory just out of reach. So sad.
God has graciously given us the rule book called The Bible to guide us to the “Winners’ Podium.” Someone has referred to it as, “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. If we read it, follow its training program (spiritual disciplines) rather than attempting our own DIY program, the Crown of Righteousness will be our reward, which in turn becomes our gift to cast at the feet of the One who made it all possible.