“Share a moment with the world.” That’s the PR slogan for the Olympics. PR or not, I really love the Olympics. I find the drama irresistible as the best athletes in the world compete, stretching themselves for their best performances in an effort to win.
Excellence.
Pressure.
Performance.
Competition.
Danger.
Victory.
The whole aura of the games is breathtaking.
As I’ve aged, however, I’ve seen how these moments of excellence for a world class athlete are short-lived. The passage of four short years leaves many former champions simply too old to compete with the best in their sport. They can’t even make the national team. Now that I am older than the competitors, I find myself lured toward depression as the cynical voice of self-doubt hollers in my head:
“You’re past your peak!”
“Your best years are behind you!”
“You can’t do it anymore, old man!”
“But I’m only 43!” I cry out in my mind. “That's not all that old!” I’m just glad my teenage kids can’t hear my thoughts, they’d be happy to correct my delusions of youthfulness.
Then the blessed Holy Spirit, God’s abiding presence reminds me of two of the most incredible spiritual truths about God’s wonderful grace:
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we... are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. ... Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” (2 Corinthians 3:17-18; 4:16)
Christians who hunger after the Lord don’t get older, they get better! Or to say it more accurately, the older we get, the more closely we come to resemble Jesus. As our bodies age, we don’t have to feel past our peak, beyond our prime, and over the hill. Instead, we can know our best days of discipleship are ahead as the Lord works his transformation in us.
When I first began to preach, I was blessed to have a gifted minister share his influence, advice, and time with me. His passion thrilled and excited me as I saw him claiming new territory for the Lord, discovering life changing truths he had never seen before, having new hope in the Lord, and reaching for new vistas in ministry. His example reminded me that the best part of my spiritual journey lay ahead. His continued ministry in mentoring today promises the same grace twenty years later. He’s still doing it, out there over a decade ahead of me.
I will not lose heart! I may be past my prime for the Winter Olympics, but as long as my eyes are set on Jesus, Prime Time is always just ahead. I don’t know about you, but walking with the Lord, I can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring and what the Lord will do to make me more like him. So strike up that familiar fanfare, because this old guy is better than at his last Olympics!
