VICTORY

Its the 'Winter Olympics' again and all eyes have turned to Turin Italy that is those millions of us who are interested in winter sports. We all get caught up in the hype and even project the number of gold medals our country's team will bring home. At the end of the day that's all that matters or so it seems. And a sad day it is for those teams who don't do well. Indeed, some coaches and teams, at the end of the games, upon arrival at their home airports will be greeted not with praise and appreciation for how hard they have played, but with humiliation and harsh criticism for having not won.Only one thing really matters-VICTORY.

Everybody loves a winner. Just a few short years ago, our city of Toronto was wild with excitement as the Toronto Blue Jays played for the first time in the World Series baseball championships. They won the championship, a feat which they repeated the next year. The newspapers were filled with stories of the victorious heroes; the radio station talk shows talked about nothing else; and hardly a conversation took place but it turned to the subject of baseball and the great victories which were taking place on the baseball fields. The whole city was in an upbeat mood.

Any team worth its salt knows that the utlimate goal is to be victorious; and certainly that is God's goal for us individuals who were created and formed in His image. Life is not easy, as a rule. There are challenges that face all of us. Sometimes it's a relationship problem; a physical hurdle or a personal lost; or it just might be something in the area of our spiritual journey that is causing defeat.

As the old saying goes,"we were never promised a rose garden." But we were promised that we could know victory. We don't have to be defeated all the time and live on a level far below our hopes and expectations. Wasn't it Paul who said:

" I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Phillipians 4:13

Paul drew frequently from the sports arena to illustrate the great truths he wished to impart. He knew the importance of reaching for the 'gold' He said:

"I keep striving to win the prize for which Christ Jesus has already won me to Himself...So I run straight toward the goal in order to win the prize, which is God's call through Christ Jesus to the life above." Philippians 4:2-3

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