Selah2020: Pause and Reflect

[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during November 2021]

A cycle accident at the age of eight eliminated any slim chance of my achieving Olympic glory; so much so that the only Olympic stadium that I ever appeared in was the original one, and the medals were long gone by then. That probably explains why I never made ‘Sports Personality of the Year’ either.

What did eight-year-old boys do at that time? Running, jumping, physical exercise was part of life. Whether you liked it or not, PE at school, team sports, cross-country runs (ouch, ouch, ouch) were part of growing up but any running, jumping or dancing around increased the risk of further damage to a knee that still reminds me frequently of that incident. I even took double maths at ‘A’ level to avoid the sports field. How I would have envied children of a later generation who can learn about the world through their tablets and social media.

But ‘learning about’ is not the same as experiencing the real thing for yourself. It can be argued that third-party experiences are not really experiences at all. No matter how many times we are told that playing with matches is dangerous it is not until we feel the heat that the message becomes real. It is not until we win a match that we experience the full impact of the emotions that follow.

No person striving for glory on the sports field would rely on theoretical knowledge alone. Mastery of the mathematical concepts of velocity, trajectory and angles of incidence is not going to make anyone a great footballer, a tennis star or even a competent snooker player. Success requires action, diligence, dedication, talent and experience.

Is your knowledge of God a third-party experience? Have you heard other people talking about their confidence in the Father, their love for the Son and the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, and yet you cannot identify with their sentiments? Remember how the Queen of Sheba summed up her visit to Solomon:

But I did not believe what they said until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half … was told me; you have far exceeded the report I heard. [2 Chronicles 9 v5 NVUK]

Can you use similar words to describe your experience of God?

The apostle Paul used a number of sporting illustrations in his letters. He wrote about running the race, finishing the course, receiving the prize. These are illustrations of the level of endeavour which should characterise our earthly journey as Christians; thankfully they are not physical requirements for entry into heaven.

We do not have to compete for a place in heaven; that is a certainty for those who have accepted God’s offer of salvation. Rather, our efforts are a grateful response to the sacrifice that bought us that salvation. Elsewhere Paul wrote about how those efforts might be assessed^[1]. The final outcome of our earthly course is assured but our experience of the race depends on how much effort we put in.

[1] 1 Corinthians 3 v11-15.

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