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I wonder what it feels like to be an Olympic gold champion? I was usually last to be picked for the netball team at school, so I’m in awe of those who possess incredible sporting prowess. I’ve watched with delight over the past fortnight as gold medal winners at the Olympic Games have triumphantly rung the bell in the Stade de France. The image of Britain’s 800 metre champion Keeley Hodgkinson, finally achieving her Olympic dream, celebrating her gold medal with a crown on her head and a flag on her back, is one which sums up that incredible moment. It’s easy to forget, that it is just one moment made from many, many moments, none of which were crowned with gold. It’s those moments where the medal is won.
It’s the 5 am starts. It’s the missing out on stuff; the saying no to friends and family and fun. It’s the cast-iron commitment, dedication and endless hard work. It’s the many unseen sacrifices that all lead up that one moment where finally, everybody sees.
Jesus told his disciples that if they wanted to follow him they had to deny themselves. He said, ‘Those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.’ Reading this verse this morning, I wonder, not for the first time, why Jesus always has to make everything so hard. But I know that every life is a story of losses and gains, the question is, what are you willing to sacrifice in order to gain something golden?
Lose your social life, the best days of your youth, your rest, your time, and maybe, just maybe, you’ll gain an Olympic gold medal. Or maybe not. When I became a Christian at age 33, I lost my life as I’d known it and so far there’s been no victory bell to ring, no medal to place around my neck, no proud, tearful moment stood on a podium as the national anthem plays. What I’ve gained is a new life that can’t be measured in these terms. The triumph is to be found in something more personal than that; it’s a victory between me and God alone.