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GO FOR THE GOLD
For several months before the Olympic Games take place every four years we continually hear the term “Go For The Gold.” The best athletes from around the world gather together during the Olympic Games to compete for gold medals in their respective sports.
Olympic athletes train for years in order to win the prestigious awards which are given to these athletically gifted individuals. Every athlete gives his or her best effort to achieve the status of “best of the best.” The Gold Medal which the winners receive is proof they arose above all adversity and competition to become winners of the best athletic prize on Earth.
Going for the “true Gold,” the divine nature of Christ, should be the desire of the heart of every believer. The Bible says there are heavenly “witnesses” watching us and are cheerfully praying for us “to win the gold” as we run with endurance the race which is set before us. Jesus is standing at a heavenly portal watching the race we all are running. He is optimistically encouraging us to reach out to Him as we “press forward toward the mark of the high calling of God.”
The Holy Spirit is running beside us and encouraging each one of us as we press forward toward “the finish line.” If we wish to “win the prize” of the “high calling of God,” we must faithfully run until we finish the race we have begun. Our greatest desire should be to hear the words “Well done My good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord” when we have finished our course.
Several years ago I had a dream about a race. In the dream I was living in a large city. One morning I got out of bed, got dressed, and went outside. There were a few people who were jogging down the street in front of me. The people were not looking from side to side, but kept their focus on the road straight ahead of them as they were “running the race.”
Everything looked natural and normal to me. I walked over to the street where the people were running. Without hesitation, I found myself jogging and running along with the others. The farther I ran, the more people I saw joining in the race. Ahead of me in the distance I could see there was a great crowd of people who were also running in this race.
The farther I ran “with the crowd,” the more people I could see around me running in the race. The “crowd” of runners became so thick that soon everybody was running shoulder to shoulder with their shoulders rubbing up against each other. The runners finally became so pressed together that no one could move in any direction except forward. I did not know where I was going or why I joined in the race. I was just “following the crowd.”
There were so many people behind me and in front of me that the forward motion of the press of the crowd became terrifying. About a quarter of a mile ahead of me the street narrowed down as we came closer and closer to a small underground tunnel.
We came to a place where there were high walls on both sides of the street which could not be climbed. Unfortunately, the only direction which people could go was forward toward the dark tunnel which was looming perilously ahead of us. No one was able to turn around because the press of the crowd was driving everyone forward from back to front.
The press became tighter and tighter as the people came closer and closer to the tunnel. The momentum of the runners which were behind us was pushing forward the runners in front of them into the dark tunnel. Panic began to set in among the runners because everybody was now being crushed and pushed forward into the tunnel by the multitudes of runners behind them.
As I came closer and closer to the tunnel, I realized it was not a tunnel but a gateway to Hell. I began to panic as I realized any escape had become impossible. There was no way of escape as the momentum and press of the crowd pushed me closer and closer to the Gateway of Hell.
There was no way of pushing back because the momentum of the masses was too great. I knew if I entered into the tunnel there would be no way of escape for me. I knew that the other runners would all be doomed for eternity. To say I was “desperate for help” would be an understatement. I cannot describe or express the fear which gripped my heart as I was being pushed closer and closer to the tunnel. My fear grew stronger and stronger as I approached the Gateway to Hell.
Just as I was at the brink of being pushed by the crowd into the mouth of the dark tunnel, I looked up. I realized the only way I could be saved from the destruction which was immediately ahead of me was to somehow get “above my circumstances.” However, everybody was pressed together, and there was absolutely nothing I could grab onto in order to pull myself out of the press of people pushing me forward toward the tunnel.
Suddenly, I looked up and saw above me a man who I will call an Angel. The Angel appeared “over me” and looked down at me just as the crowd was beginning to push me into the mouth of the dark tunnel. He appeared to be monitoring events which were taking place below him on a computer. He then motioned to another Angel to reach down and help me. As I reached my hand up toward the Angel above me, he grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the crowd and up to safety.
As I was waking up my body was shaking all over. The dream I had just experience seemed so real it was unnerving. I had just experienced what it would feel like when someone enters into the Gateway of Hell without a way of escape.
I guess you could say the race I was running could be called the “human race.” We are ALL part of the human race. Every person is running this race. We all need to realize that we are running a race “toward eternity.” Those who are running this race without Christ will eventually find themselves entering into the gates of Hell.
At first the race seemed harmless as I ran in the same direction as all the other runners. Many people were already in the race, and many others were continually joining us as we were running down the road. For a while everything seemed to be going well for all those who were running the race. However, before I realized what was happening, the race suddenly became a literal nightmare and it seemed as though I would not and could not make it out alive. I did not realize at the time that the race which I was running would lead me to the Gateway of Hell where I would be unable to escape.
The road which leads to Hell is a wide and deceptive one. There are many things along the “Broad Way” people focus on which will lead them to the gates of Hell. One day everything will seem to be fine and everyone will be enjoying the race. However, there are deadly and dire consequences for those who are running along the “Broad Path” of life toward the finish line of Hell.
If people fail to lift their eyes and hands toward heaven and reach out to the only one who can save them from their sins, they will be doomed for eternity. Once people have entered into the depths of Hell, there is no hope for salvation. There is NO WAY of escape for those have taken the “Broad Path” in life and end up in the throes of eternal suffering, agony, and torment.
At first glance the people who were running the race with me did not seem to be any hindrance to me. As I ran farther and farther in the race I began to realize that the mass of people running in the race with me had become a hindrance to me, as well as my downfall. The proximity to me and the press (pressure) around me would have soon forced me into the tunnel along with the others if I had I not reached up to Heaven for help.
When we sincerely lift our hands up to Jesus and ask Him for His help, we will find His grace and mercy in our time of need. When we sincerely repent and confess our sins to God, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9).
Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before me, I press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians, ch. 3, vs. 13-14.
The truth is we are ALL running a race toward either Heaven or Hell. The Apostle Paul admonished us to run this race set before us with “patience and endurance.” As Christians our race is pointed in a different direction than those who are headed toward the gates of Hell. As Christians our race is being run toward the Gate of Heaven. We need the “divine nature of Christ” to help us run that race purposely, patiently and perfectly so we can finish the race and win the “Crown of Life” which is awaiting us in Heaven.
As Christians we are all running the race in a different direction than the world. However, there is always pressure from others in the world who sometimes knowingly and unknowingly pressure us into “running” in the direction which they are going. Those who live among us and beside us, including those we closely associate with, are influencing our lives daily-- some negatively and some positively.
There are principalities and powers who are continually trying to lead us off the “Narrow Path” onto the “Broad Path” which leads to destruction. We and we alone decide which goal we race toward and where we will spend eternity. We alone decide which path we are pressing forward on and which goal we are running toward.
If we are going to win the prize which is set before us, it is our responsibility to PRESS FORWARD toward the finish line in the race we are running. We do this by laying aside every weight and the sins which so easily besets us and hinders our progress in Christ. Pursuing and obtaining the fullness of the “divine nature of Christ” will ensure us we will win the prize of the “mark of the high calling of God.” We must be determined to pursue Christ and “go for the gold” as we run our race with determination and patience.