Will you be at the Sydney 2000 Olympics? If so, will it be as an athlete or a spectator?
As I look around the congregation I believe I am correct in concluding that we don't have any Sydney 2000 athletes here! Perhaps a past Olympian - I don't know about that! Youth still striving for their best at school sport. No doubt some older folk nostalgically remember their athletic past. And some keep jogging, walking, tennis, bowls, golf…
But most of us will enjoy the Olympics without sweat or tears - a few from a spectator stand at one of the Olympic venues, but most from the comfort of our own lounge.
The Australian team members will be going for gold - but so will the athletes from other countries. As the host nation, we naturally want the highest overall medal tally. But we want the games to be fair - no drugs, all fair play. And we want a high standard, with the world's best winning in each event - good winners and good losers.
We are saddened that there should have been corruption in the process for selecting Sydney as the venue. That surely has no place at all in an international goodwill movement.
Paul is writing to Timothy, a Christian from Asia Minor who had been Paul's companion for possibly fifteen years or so. Now he is responsible to give leadership and oversight to the church in Ephesus. Paul advises him, "Keep yourself in training for a godly life. Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is valuable in every way, because it promises life both for the present and for the future" (vv. 7b-8).
"Keep yourself in training…" A number of helpful comparisons can be made between the Christian life and training for the Olympics. We find them in several of Paul's letters (1 Cor. 9.24-27; Phil. 3.14; 1 Tim. 6.12; 2 Tim. 2.5, 4.7; as well as the present reading). But there is a major difference. The event isn't next year - it is today, tomorrow and throughout our life. The athletes have to be good enough to pass the selection process, but they need to be at their peak by the time of the Olympics. In the Christian life we need to be reaching toward our peak all the time.
"Keep yourself in training for the godly life", Paul writes - not just the "good life", but the life that flows from our relationship with God. How do we "keep in training"?
You had better watch your diet. On the positive side, this means devouring good healthy food - "the words of faith and of the true teaching which you have followed." Read the Scriptures. Absorb the biblical stories. But don't just snatch a text here and there. Seek to grasp the major themes of redemption and grace and salvation and faith. Take on board this true teaching. Let it become part of your being - to inform your thinking and motivate your actions. Yes, Paul talks about the words and teaching "which you have followed". Faith has to do with action here and now, not just salvation in eternity.
There is a cartoon in a book by Paul Little with the title, How to Give Away your Faith (Intervarsity, Chicago, 1966, p. 117). It shows a man tumbling off a step-ladder because the rungs are breaking. The caption says, "It does matter what you believe as long as you believe it." It almost sounds like the saying, "It doesn't matter what you believe as long as you believe something." That is the saying of people who want religious faith to be just a relative personal preference. But Paul Little is emphasising absolute truth, plus the imperative of moving into action - it is not enough to have a correct set of beliefs, if we don't actually depend on them and live by them!
If we are going to keep up our training, there is a negative aspect to our diet too - "But keep away from those godless legends, which are not worth telling" (v. 7a). There is a lot of "junk food" out there that will do you no good. Some of it is secular "junk food." I am not just thinking of pornography or the TV Guide. We can fill our minds with literature, ideas and values that may have a right place, but which too often become a total commitment that edges out our dependence on God. There is also plenty of spiritual "junk food" out there too. Like physical "junk food" it is very tasty and appealing, but it doesn't build strength into our being and it takes away our appetite for the solid meat of the Word. Years ago a friend got drawn away onto the British Israel sidetrack. More recently, some people have become entranced with "Bible code" speculation. Remember, junk food deprives you of your appetite for healthy nourishing food. "Keep away from those godless legends."
Paul is not decrying our need for physical exercise. Food, fresh air and exercise are all part of a healthy life. It certainly has value, and probably most of us don't get nearly enough of it! What he is saying, however, is that our greatest need is to know God and to live in response to him. And that, as we noted earlier, is not practising up for the "real thing" which will be next year some time. Our "spiritual exercise" is living out our relationship with God in our lives here and now. It will bring benefits both now and in eternity.
Paul goes on, "This is a true saying, to be completely accepted and believed [Paul uses this phrase five times in this letter. Here it links together what he has just said about spiritual exercise and the commitment and motivation which he now addressed]. We struggle and work hard, because we have placed our hope in the living God, who is the Saviour of all and especially of those who believe" (vv. 9-10).
The living God is reaching out with salvation to all people. He is, as Peter wrote, "patient with you, because he does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sin" (2 Pet. 3.9b). But it is only those who have repented, those who believe, who can experience the reality of his salvation. Having put our confidence in the living God, "we struggle and work hard." This is our motivation. This is our commitment.
Don't give up! Christ is up ahead calling you on! He is also alongside you urging you on! And by his Spirit he lives within you giving you strength for the race!
The Olympic Games are next year. The Christian life is now. Keep in training. Watch your spiritual diet. Exercise spiritually. Be committed and motivated. Head for the tape.
You are not alone. The Lord is with you. And by his Spirit he lives within you. Don't give up!
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