THE PRIZE OF ETERNAL LIFE

It is hard to draw from the Olympics an analogy of what Christ has done for us. His actions on the cross, done on our behalf, won the prize of eternal life for us, when we couldn't do it on our own. I couldn't imagine anything in the Olympics to parallel that -- that is until I turned on the Today Show one morning during the 1996 Summer Olympics. I could not believe my ears. A U.S. swimmer had just won an Olympic medal, in fact it was the first medal won by the United States in the 1996 Summer Games. But instead of keeping it for herself, she gave it to a close friend, Marcie, a fellow swimmer who was dealing with cancer. The medalist was quoted as saying, "It just made me realize how precious life is. She's fighting for her life. She's really a hero to me. Swimming's great, but it's not the only thing." You see, the swimmer won the medal for someone who, because of cancer, could not win it for herself. And guess what the Olympic medal swimmer's name was... Angel!

Well, we are like that friend who has cancer. Because of sin we cannot, by our selves, win the gold -- the prize of eternal life. Sin has weighted us down. Sin has broken our spirit. But we have a friend, not an "angel," but the very Son of God, who paid the price and won the prize, and has now given it to us. Like Angel's friend Marcie, we must accept that prize to make it ours. Marcie couldn't earn it. We cannot earn our salvation. It is a free gift from God waiting for our acceptance. 

-- Rev. David T. Wilkinson in a sermon entitled "On Your Marks, Get Set, Gold!"


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