Photo: Enigma sports

"there has only ever been one perfect man, the Lord Jesus, and we killed him. I only missed a putt."

Berhard Langer on the 1991 Ryder Cup

A different kind of glory

I loved being at the World Athletics Championships in Moscow earlier this year. I seemed to know so many athletes who won medals. It was thrilling to be there and share their moment of glory. They were publicly rewarded for hours and hours of blood, tears toil and sweat, away from the crowds as they pushed their bodies to the limits. Of course there are financial rewards but for most, the glory of the title and the medal were more important.

When Jesus talked about his death, “being glorified” was a strange word to use. He elaborated like this:

Very truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. (John 12:24-25)

For Jesus, being glorified was not about public adulation – it was about giving up his life. There are many places in the gospels where Jesus reverses traditional values – for example “the first shall be last”. This is another example: You gain life by losing life. Jim Elliott (1927-1956), martyred missionary expressed it well: “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose”.

I don’t begrudge or belittle any athlete’s hard earned moment of glory. I just ask that we all keep it in perspective and seek especially the glory that will last forever

Weekly sports email