I've been watching the winter Olympics about 3 nights a week since they started. Our heat bill was 400 dollars in December so I have the thermostat set at 58 degrees - the same temperature as Vancouver. When I watch the ice-skating, the luge or the nordic combined, it feels like I am actually there. As I cuddle up in an old red Coleman sleeping bag and try to enjoy the "magic" of ice-dancing, the mist of my own breath slightly obstructs my view of the TV.
I've noticed is that everyone is buffed. This should be no surprise to us. To be a champion you'd better be "chiseled." But even the 15 year old figure skater girls are ripped. And the reason they are so "yoked" is that they train day in and day out to be ready for that one moment where all of the training will pay off - the olympics. They train for a single moment every four years. They run, lift weights, stretch for six hours a day and all for a single chance at glory. They spend years preparing for what might be 2 minutes of competition. The apostle Paul talked about training too. He talked about running a race to win and about training ourselves for godliness - about being spiritually "chiseled."
I once heard an artist talk about prayer as allowing God to form us. He compared it to sculpting marble. "The image is already there in the marble. The skilled artist just removes pieces until it is visible." People are like big chunks of marble and prayer allows the master artist access to our lives. He then begins the process of removing pieces. This can be a painful process but the end result is beautiful - glorious.
I guess what I am saying is that every day, no matter how mundane and unimportant it seems to us, is an opportunity to train for godliness. It is a chance to listen to the voice of God and allow him to form us. Paul tells us that we are training for something much more important than medals or victory wreaths, we are training for glory that lasts. Our lives become reflections of God for the world to see but we must allow the Artist to chisel his image onto us. We must train for godliness as we study, fast, pray, practice justice and all of the other disciplines of the Christian life. During this lent, as we allow God to work in our lives and remove those things that hinder us, let's get chiseled for glory awaits.
I've noticed is that everyone is buffed. This should be no surprise to us. To be a champion you'd better be "chiseled." But even the 15 year old figure skater girls are ripped. And the reason they are so "yoked" is that they train day in and day out to be ready for that one moment where all of the training will pay off - the olympics. They train for a single moment every four years. They run, lift weights, stretch for six hours a day and all for a single chance at glory. They spend years preparing for what might be 2 minutes of competition. The apostle Paul talked about training too. He talked about running a race to win and about training ourselves for godliness - about being spiritually "chiseled."
I once heard an artist talk about prayer as allowing God to form us. He compared it to sculpting marble. "The image is already there in the marble. The skilled artist just removes pieces until it is visible." People are like big chunks of marble and prayer allows the master artist access to our lives. He then begins the process of removing pieces. This can be a painful process but the end result is beautiful - glorious.
I guess what I am saying is that every day, no matter how mundane and unimportant it seems to us, is an opportunity to train for godliness. It is a chance to listen to the voice of God and allow him to form us. Paul tells us that we are training for something much more important than medals or victory wreaths, we are training for glory that lasts. Our lives become reflections of God for the world to see but we must allow the Artist to chisel his image onto us. We must train for godliness as we study, fast, pray, practice justice and all of the other disciplines of the Christian life. During this lent, as we allow God to work in our lives and remove those things that hinder us, let's get chiseled for glory awaits.
Those 15 year old figure skater girls look like they're made of porcelain.
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