It looked hopeless.  The young man had never swum in a competition let alone a team relay.  By the time he touched the pool wall for the next swimmer to go, the relay was in last of the seven teams by a long ways.  But something began to change.  The next swimmer took off and managed to catch the field.  Though still in last, the relay team was still in the fight.  The third swimmer caught and overtook half the teams, and by the time the fourth and final swimmer finished his leg of the relay and the race, the team everyone thought would finish dead last ended up winning by a landslide…or waterslide.   (Pause for Thought:  “I have seen something else under the sun:  The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.”—Ecclesiastes 9:11  Have you ever been asked to do something you felt you were not qualified to do?  Did you accept the challenge?  How did it turn out?)

 

My son was the second swimmer on the team that won the relay.  As a proud, and shocked, father, I can tell you watching this race was the highlight of my summer.  I asked my son about the thoughts going through his mind as he prepared to enter the water in a distant last place.  He replied, “Anthony (third swimmer) said he owed me if I got us back into the race.  I told him he didn’t owe me anything.  I’m swimming for first prize.”  His comment started me thinking about Jesus and His purpose on earth and how he handled it.  I can imagine him saying, “You don’t owe me anything (though we owe Him everything).  The debt will be paid.  I’m living and dying to the glory of the Father.”   (Pause for Thought:  “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”—Hebrews 12:1-2  What difficult, seemingly hopeless, circumstances are you facing?  How does knowing Jesus went through something as insurmountable as death help you in your struggle?  Is there someone with whom you can share your thoughts and feelings?)

 

The air became electric as the four boys received their first place awards.  Fans and spectators were still marveling at the tremendous comeback.  A jackhammer couldn’t remove the smile on the first swimmer’s face.  Only the coach stood in perfect confidence of what he just witnessed.  While people said they never thought the team would win the relay, he said he knew full well the outcome.  He knew the individual dynamic of all four swimmers, and how gracefully, under pressure, the entire team would finish first.   (Pause for Thought:  “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?  Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.  They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”—I Corinthians 9:24-25.  How does knowing that Jesus finished first in life-living and knowing how he accomplished this feat help us as believers run our races?  What, do you think, are key attributes for us as Christ’s brothers and sisters to train and perfect as we live to win the crown?  How does grace factor into your training?)