True success in any field of endeavor requires extreme focus. An Olympic athlete often spends eight or more hours per day practicing, usually seven days a week. That’s more time than most people spend at their jobs.
What happens if the athlete gets distracted? She loses her edge. Her focus weakens. She allows other things to sidetrack her from her practice, and she loses her chance for the prize.
Some athletes let their focus on the sport be replaced by the need to win at any cost. Let’s look at a few Olympic competitors that lost everything:
- Ben Johnson of Canada lost his focus to steroids. His Olympic medals were stripped from him.
- Hans-Gunnar Liljenwall of Sweden consumed two beers to calm his nerves, and his entire Olympic team was disqualified.
- Rashid Ramzi of Bahrain tested positive for a blood-boosting drug. He lost his gold medal.
- Marion Jones of the United States not only gave up six medals due to doping, she spent six months in jail for related perjury and check fraud.
- Lyudmyla Blonska of Ukraine is permanently banned from Olympic competition for repeated doping.
These people had the ultimate dream come true. They were the best of the best, and the world admired them. Yet, they made a trade, and their victories came apart around them.
Two thousand years ago, the Jews were the Olympic competitors of their day. They had the winning combination. Jesus came to them, and only to them. Yet, the Jews let another man take his place, and they lost everything.
John 18:40 tells us the choice made:
“They cried out again, ‘Not this man, but Barabbas!’ ”
Mark 15:15 reveals the deed in progress:
“So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.”
Acts 3:14 exposes the deception:
“But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you.”
Matthew 28:19 gives us the penalty:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
The irony of this is that the Jews could have chosen Jesus, and the rest of the world would have lost out. Yet, because of their loss of focus on the message Jesus brought to them, they chose Barabbas instead. They were already on the podium to receive the best Olympic medal of all, and it was stripped from them and given to all nations.
We are those nations. Now the responsibility is on our shoulders. As believing Christians, we cannot afford to let anything replace Jesus. He is the winner’s spot on the podium. He is the gold Olympic medal. He is the prize that we dare not lose, no matter what else we let go of.
Staying focused on Jesus means the prize is already ours.
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