The grand finale of any sport is a stirring experience—from basketball, to ice-skating, when you see the very best of the best scrape the barrel of their skills to its absolute depth it is more than a spectacle, it is an inspiration.
With the upcoming Olympics the world is preparing to see many heroic battles of human agility, strength and precision. Athletes across the globe are honing their craft, training their minds and beating their bodies into submission. This year they will attempt to move faster than ever before: to jump higher, lift heavier and throw further. Extreme dedication will break records, while mere milliseconds decide medals.
But to compete in their chosen fields each athlete is going to have to adhere to the guidelines—the 100 metre swimmers will swim exactly 100 metres, while the runners sprint the specified distance. All sports are governed by a strict set of rules and criteria, and without these being followed it simply doesn't count.
According to the rules
2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 5: "An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules."
I love basketball, but being on the shorter side of the population you wouldn't expect me to be able to dunk the ball on a full size ring—and I can't. But when I was in college I had a wishful dream of being able to dunk that ball. At first I could only dunk the eight foot ring, two feet off the proper size. With a bit of practice I could dunk eight and a half and finally managed, at the peak of my training regime, to dunk a nine foot ring—score!
But the thing is a nine foot ring isn't used in a game and no proper court has a lowered ring; so while I can dunk a modified ring, I can't with all honesty say I can dunk, because when I'm faced with the real deal my outstretched hand catches nothing but net.
When it comes to spiritual matters, sometimes I wonder if I don't create my own set of rules to live my Christian life, kind of like lowering the basketball ring so I can get in a slam dunk.
I reduce a good Christian life to a set of rules and patterns to follow, a formula to obey with religious consistency. If I get in a daily Bible reading and a bit of prayer time I'm doing well—make that an hour long prayer session and I'm a spiritual legend.
But when the devotion is finished and the book is closed I feel I've paid my dues to God and can now safely do 'me time.' But it is a wrong view of things. God calls for all of me; all of my devotion, all of my energy, all of my passion.
I need to be like an athlete training for the Olympic spotlight, but I also need to be sure of the rules of the game of which I'm playing. When I stand before God and account for the life I've lived, I will be measured by His standards, His decrees, His rules.
My slam dunk of a modified, watered-down Christian life won't really cut it when compared to the real deal.
Thomas Devenish lives in Hobart, Tasmania. He works as a motion designer and enjoys the diverse experiences life has to offer, from wake-boarding to curling up with a good book on a rainy day.
Thomas Devenish's previous articles may be viewed at www.pressserviceinternational.org/thomas-devenish.html