Pastor's Message
August 2021
Going for the Gold
By the time you read this, the Summer Olympics should be in full swing or even over. Will Simone Biles repeat as the best all-around women’s gymnast and lead the U.S. team to gold? How about in the pool? How will Caeleb Dressel, Katie Ledecky, and Simone Manuel do in the individual and relay events? On the track, will Allyson Felix bring home her 7th gold in this, her 5th Olympics? Or, will Noah Lyles capture three golds in three different sprints? We shall see!
Olympic athletes typically train for years, even decades to reach the pinnacle of their sport. Imagine the miles run, the laps swum, or the repetition of routines necessary to get to this point. It’s remarkable! Even in the Apostle Paul’s day, he acknowledged, “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.” (1 Corinthians 9:25)
Paul’s point is so important. As much work and effort goes into sport, the accomplishment is temporary. There’s always another race, another time to beat, another record to set. It all gets broken or forgotten. It’s temporary. Even
the medals can be lost, stolen, or damaged. We work towards something eternal. However great our physical training, our spiritual training is even more valuable. Regarding faith, Paul says it is “of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire” and it has a goal which results in “praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed”
(1 Peter 1:7).
In this world there is a different kind of gold which many seek, something we might call the Almighty Dollar. There is the perception that money can bring pleasure and happiness, can make my life better. And, to some degree, we can understand. Money can buy a lot of things. But money can’t buy happiness. It can buy amusement. It can buy distraction. It can buy entertainment and fun. But it can’t buy happiness. That’s something that only comes from heart content with God’s grace. As Jesus warned, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
The Apostle Paul understood this. He acknowledged, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every
situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:11-13)
However, as Christians, we do “go for the gold” in a different sense. It goes back to what Paul was speaking of in 1 Corinthians 9:24, “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 … a crown that will last forever.” He’s talking, of course, about heaven.
In Revelation, John’s vision of heaven describes the New Jerusalem this way: “The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. … The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.” (21:18,21). Now, we understand that Revelation is a vision of heaven. The streets are not really made of gold; that’s simply the way it looked to John. Rather, heaven includes something greater: life forever with Jesus in glory.
So, as you watch the Olympics (or reflect back on them), we can cheer our athletes and appreciate the natural talent and work that went into being the best they can be. We can rejoice in gold, silver, and bronze medals and representing your country with honor and grace. More than that, we can meditate upon the greater prize waiting for us as we “run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2).
~ Pastor Ben Golisch
Going for the Gold
By the time you read this, the Summer Olympics should be in full swing or even over. Will Simone Biles repeat as the best all-around women’s gymnast and lead the U.S. team to gold? How about in the pool? How will Caeleb Dressel, Katie Ledecky, and Simone Manuel do in the individual and relay events? On the track, will Allyson Felix bring home her 7th gold in this, her 5th Olympics? Or, will Noah Lyles capture three golds in three different sprints? We shall see!
Olympic athletes typically train for years, even decades to reach the pinnacle of their sport. Imagine the miles run, the laps swum, or the repetition of routines necessary to get to this point. It’s remarkable! Even in the Apostle Paul’s day, he acknowledged, “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.” (1 Corinthians 9:25)
Paul’s point is so important. As much work and effort goes into sport, the accomplishment is temporary. There’s always another race, another time to beat, another record to set. It all gets broken or forgotten. It’s temporary. Even
the medals can be lost, stolen, or damaged. We work towards something eternal. However great our physical training, our spiritual training is even more valuable. Regarding faith, Paul says it is “of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire” and it has a goal which results in “praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed”
(1 Peter 1:7).
In this world there is a different kind of gold which many seek, something we might call the Almighty Dollar. There is the perception that money can bring pleasure and happiness, can make my life better. And, to some degree, we can understand. Money can buy a lot of things. But money can’t buy happiness. It can buy amusement. It can buy distraction. It can buy entertainment and fun. But it can’t buy happiness. That’s something that only comes from heart content with God’s grace. As Jesus warned, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
The Apostle Paul understood this. He acknowledged, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every
situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:11-13)
However, as Christians, we do “go for the gold” in a different sense. It goes back to what Paul was speaking of in 1 Corinthians 9:24, “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 … a crown that will last forever.” He’s talking, of course, about heaven.
In Revelation, John’s vision of heaven describes the New Jerusalem this way: “The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. … The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.” (21:18,21). Now, we understand that Revelation is a vision of heaven. The streets are not really made of gold; that’s simply the way it looked to John. Rather, heaven includes something greater: life forever with Jesus in glory.
So, as you watch the Olympics (or reflect back on them), we can cheer our athletes and appreciate the natural talent and work that went into being the best they can be. We can rejoice in gold, silver, and bronze medals and representing your country with honor and grace. More than that, we can meditate upon the greater prize waiting for us as we “run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2).
~ Pastor Ben Golisch