Gold Medal Righteousness

Photo Credit: Stefano Costanzo

Have you ever wondered what it's like to train like an Olympian?  Right now, the greatest athletes in the world have gathered in London for the 2012 Olympic Games.  Each of these individuals has trained their bodies to the razor's edge of perfection in their respective disciplines.

Perhaps as training regiments go Michael Phelps swims only the minimum required laps.  Surely, Usain Bolt's target mark is to merely match his previous world record.  Gold medalist Abby Wambach and the U.S. Women's soccer team are probably just happy to participate on this global stage.

These statements sound a bit ridiculous.  We know that these athletes haven't reached the Olympics without a fierce drive to push themselves further than ever before.  Each Olympian has the gold medal in their sights.  They strive forward for the prize knowing that only the pinnacle of physical performance will gain the reward.

Should our spiritual lives be any less focussed?

Philippians 3:14:
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

In chapter three of Philippians, Paul is describing his own spiritual walk.  He describes the things he has endured and lost on his journey.  He talks about his accomplishments, but clearly puts little stock in them in comparison to his ultimate prize as stated in verses 8 and 9:

"What is more, I consider everything a loss because of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.  I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith."

Paul was on the leading edge of the Christian faith at this point in history.  He was God's apostle to the Gentiles, and writer of the bulk of the New Testament.  Yet in this same chapter he says, "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal".  If Paul still falls short, how can there be hope for us?

First, we have to see that clearly Paul doesn't define righteousness through the lens of a checklist of lawful accomplishments.  Recall from the earlier verse, "not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law".  When we try to "accomplish" our righteousness through obedience, we lean on our own strength and fail to have faith in Christ and His sacrifice for fulfilling all that required of us.

Besides, Jesus himself expanded the law beyond the rigors of Levitical scriptures.  In the Sermon on the Mount, adultery went from the mere act of fornication to "anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has committed adultery with her in his heart."  And the Parable of the Good Samaritan laid the groundwork for a whole new classification of sin.  Now, there weren't merely sins that we can DO against God, but also things that we DON'T DO called sins of omission.  Denomination are still working out definitions to that one centuries later.

If it all seems like too much for a person to bear, that's because it is.  After He sent away the rich, young ruler, Jesus' disciples asked Him "Who then can be saved?"

"What is impossible with man is possible with God." (Luke 18:27)

Romans 3:23 puts it this way, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God".  And this is the second thing for us to understand about Paul's race toward the goal.  He knew that he, just like each of us, would never reach it.  Romans goes on in verse 24, "and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."

We have all sinned.  We will all continue to sin.  This is human nature.  Paul understood this.  His goal wasn't merely the accomplishment of a list of rules: follow the Ten Commandments, be nice to your neighbors, and go to church three out of four Sundays a month.  No.  Paul's prize was the impossible.  He aimed to emulate the perfect character of Christ.  He says so in 1 Corinthians 11:1, "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ."  And he knew he would fall short of this, but salvation wasn't dependent on his, or our own, efforts; it has always been about the grace of God in Christ Jesus.

This is our gold medal effort.  Not that we strive to avoid those things that make God angry, but that we continually seek to gain His pleasure by emulating His Son, our Lord.  Keep your eyes focussed on the prize.  Continually strive towards the perfect character of Christ.  We seek to be as Christ-like as possible in ALL situations, always as loving, graceful, truthful, and selfless as He is.  Recognize that sin is anytime we fall away from His glorious, shining image.  And that we will sin, but His grace is sufficient to reach the prize.