"Do you not know that in a race all runners compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it!" (1 Corinthians 9:24, NRS)
In 2012, the official motto for the summer Olympics was "Inspire a Generation." If you could flash back to last summer, you might see a single runner carrying the Olympic torch. But you'd really see scores of athletes doing the same thing--Passing on the torch to those of us watching, inspiring another generation to go for the gold or push themselves farther than they ever thought possible. It's like passing on a legacy of heroism, courage, and excellence--all rolled into one.
One of those inspiring athletes was Michael Phelps. If anyone's life could pass on a legacy, it was Michael. At the age of 27, he'd won more Olympic medals than any other athlete in history--22 of them all together and 18 of them gold! He was so good that he inspired a young boy called Chad le Clos to get into the game.
When Chad was only 12, he saw 19-year-old Phelps win 6 gold medals in swimming. And he decided right then and there that he was going to become the greatest swimmer in all the world. He watched every race that Phelps ever swam over and over again. He posted pictures of his hero all over his room. Keeping his goal and his hero in mind, le Clos worked his way to the summer Olympics of 2012. And not only that, he would race against Phelps in the 200-meter butterfly! As le Clos stood on the edge of the pool, his one thought was, "I want to make Michael proud!" And believe it or not, he certainly did.
Michael Phelps has always wanted to make a difference in the sport of swimming. When he was just 15, he told his coach he wanted to compete: not for the gold medals, the world records, or the thunder of applause. Instead he wanted to motivate young people to follow their dreams. So when Chad le Clos told Michael how his life had touched his own, Phelps got all misty-eyed as he thought about his legacy.
One athlete touching another doesn't quite equate to inspiring a whole generation. But the more Michael Phelps we have in this world, the more impact there will be. For example, if you could influence just 1 person to follow Jesus this year, then there would be 2 of you following Jesus. And if you and your friend now influenced 1 more person the next year, then there would be 4. In the 3rd year there would be 8, in the 4th year 16, in the 5th year 32! And if you could keep this momentum going, with each person influencing only 1 person per year, at the end of 10 years, you would see over 500 people following Jesus as the result of your witness!
And that's only looking at your impact! Just think of what could happen if everyone in your church did the same thing! It's easy to see that an explosion could happen if we'd all be inspired to bring someone to Christ and inspire them to do the same.
The math can be quite exciting when you think about making disciples for Jesus! But inspiring a single generation isn't merely about the numbers. That's only one kind of growth. The ultimate growth is what happens on the inside. Because if we want to pass on a true legacy, life has to be created and duplicated. And then it must never stop! Because even if we could fill up the pews in our churches so there's standing room only, we could still miss out on the revolution that Jesus wants to ignite. Without an inner revolution in the heart, there's no momentum for passing on the torch. There's nothing to compel us to share the gospel. And even greater than that, there's no salt to make others thirsty for Jesus!
We need transformation in your life and mine to make the gospel revolution happen. Because Peter's life was changed, 3000 were converted in a day. Because Paul's life was changed, the gospel was carried round the world. In fact, when Paul came to Thessalonica, the Jews stirred up such a revolt that they dragged Jason and some other men to court with the allegation:
"These who have turned the world upside down have come here too!" (Acts 17:6)
That was what the enemies of Jesus saw in the Christians of the 1st century. They turned the world upside down for God! "By the cooperation of the divine Spirit, the apostles did a work that shook the world. To every nation the gospel was carried in a single generation" (Acts of the Apostles, pg. 593).
"These who have turned the world upside down have come here too!" (Acts 17:6)
That was what the enemies of Jesus saw in the Christians of the 1st century. They turned the world upside down for God! "By the cooperation of the divine Spirit, the apostles did a work that shook the world. To every nation the gospel was carried in a single generation" (Acts of the Apostles, pg. 593).
How could so few impact so many? It's not because one man influenced only one person a year! It's because each disciple of Christ was filled with the power of the Spirit. And by that Spirit, they were transformed so their lives testified to the truth of the gospel. Their walk matched their talk. And this was what made their witness so contagious, so explosive that they changed the world in a single generation. They were on fire with the truth as it is in Jesus. But that truth was lived out in their lives every day--consistently and victoriously. And people took notice "that they had been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13). If they had been put on trial--as many of them were--there was ample evidence to prove that Jesus was alive and well in every department of their lives.
Like Phelps and le Clos, the disciples pressed toward the goal ahead of them. And if we could interview them today, they would say, "I want to grab a hold of Jesus for the same reason He grabbed hold of me" (see Philippians 3:12). They were shooting for the same goal that Jesus was shooting for when He walked the dusty roads of Galilee. Now Christ's goal took Him to the cross, but Calvary wasn't the finish line. For in Gethsemane, Jesus prayed:
"I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do" (John 17:4, italics supplied).
What was that work? Jesus spoke these words before He ever went to the cross. So He couldn't have been talking about that. No, for in verse 6, we catch a glimmer of the goal Jesus was headed for. He prayed, "I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word."
Christ's mission was two-fold:
#1--Demonstrate to all the world who the Father really is.
#2--Pass on a legacy to the men He was training to take up His work.
Jesus revealed the Father and we are to do the same. That is why our Savior prayed, "that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me" (John 17:21). The duplication of Jesus in every disciple is the reason for the cross. By His saving act, Christ made it possible for us to be reconciled to the Father and for His character to be seen in our lives.
The work of salvation means more than just forgiving our sins; "it means taking away our sins and filling the vacuum with the graces of the Holy Spirit. It means divine illumination, rejoicing in God. It means a heart emptied of self, and blessed with the abiding presence of Christ" (Christ's Object Lessons, pg. 419). And when that happens, when Christ is formed within and truth possesses our hearts, "The glory, the fullness, the completeness of the gospel plan is fulfilled in the life" (ibid). It's fulfilled because the character of Jesus is created and duplicated in you and me. And that's the greatest testimony that Jesus is real and that He came into this world. He is the Son of God and the Savior of men. He is who He said He was and the proof is unequivocally testified through the lives of His disciples. Even if your neighbors never crack open the Bible and read the life-changing story of Jesus, they should be able to read it in your life.
Because here's the bottom line--A Christian is like Christ. And that's the goal we're shooting for. Paul said it so powerfully, "Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus" (Colossians 1:28). For this goal, Paul pressed on, straining every muscle of faith, that he might achieve this goal in every disciple that he made for Jesus Christ. "For this [goal]" he says, "I toil and struggle with all the energy that He powerfully inspires within me" (Colossians 1:29, NRS). Through Paul, Jesus inspired a whole generation! He inspired Paul. And Paul's goal was reached when he saw a mature or perfect duplication of Jesus in every one of His disciples.
It wasn't an easy goal to shoot for. It's much higher than inspiring young people to shoot for their dreams or achieve notoriety by surpassing a world record. But God still wants us to take that Olympic motto and use it for Jesus. He needs you and me to inspire a generation for Christ. He needs us to forget those things which are behind us and reach forward to all that lies before us, to "press toward the goal of the prize of the Upward Call in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13,14).
That Upward Call means to live for Jesus every day--consistently and victoriously. And it means to live like Jesus every day--consistently and victoriously. And yes, we will strive higher than those around us. For it's an Upward Call! Christians aren't merely forgiven, they are revived and recreated to be like Jesus. Christ isn't merely our Savior. He is the great Restorer. And if we put our lives into His hands, He will restore His image in us.
"Higher than the highest human thought can reach is God's ideal for His children. Godliness--Godlikeness--is the goal to be reached" (Education, pg. 18). "Therefore...let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has set down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:1,2).
Like Phelps and le Clos, the disciples pressed toward the goal ahead of them. And if we could interview them today, they would say, "I want to grab a hold of Jesus for the same reason He grabbed hold of me" (see Philippians 3:12). They were shooting for the same goal that Jesus was shooting for when He walked the dusty roads of Galilee. Now Christ's goal took Him to the cross, but Calvary wasn't the finish line. For in Gethsemane, Jesus prayed:
"I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do" (John 17:4, italics supplied).
What was that work? Jesus spoke these words before He ever went to the cross. So He couldn't have been talking about that. No, for in verse 6, we catch a glimmer of the goal Jesus was headed for. He prayed, "I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word."
Christ's mission was two-fold:
#1--Demonstrate to all the world who the Father really is.
#2--Pass on a legacy to the men He was training to take up His work.
Jesus revealed the Father and we are to do the same. That is why our Savior prayed, "that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me" (John 17:21). The duplication of Jesus in every disciple is the reason for the cross. By His saving act, Christ made it possible for us to be reconciled to the Father and for His character to be seen in our lives.
Because here's the bottom line--A Christian is like Christ. And that's the goal we're shooting for. Paul said it so powerfully, "Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus" (Colossians 1:28). For this goal, Paul pressed on, straining every muscle of faith, that he might achieve this goal in every disciple that he made for Jesus Christ. "For this [goal]" he says, "I toil and struggle with all the energy that He powerfully inspires within me" (Colossians 1:29, NRS). Through Paul, Jesus inspired a whole generation! He inspired Paul. And Paul's goal was reached when he saw a mature or perfect duplication of Jesus in every one of His disciples.
It wasn't an easy goal to shoot for. It's much higher than inspiring young people to shoot for their dreams or achieve notoriety by surpassing a world record. But God still wants us to take that Olympic motto and use it for Jesus. He needs you and me to inspire a generation for Christ. He needs us to forget those things which are behind us and reach forward to all that lies before us, to "press toward the goal of the prize of the Upward Call in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13,14).
That Upward Call means to live for Jesus every day--consistently and victoriously. And it means to live like Jesus every day--consistently and victoriously. And yes, we will strive higher than those around us. For it's an Upward Call! Christians aren't merely forgiven, they are revived and recreated to be like Jesus. Christ isn't merely our Savior. He is the great Restorer. And if we put our lives into His hands, He will restore His image in us.
"Higher than the highest human thought can reach is God's ideal for His children. Godliness--Godlikeness--is the goal to be reached" (Education, pg. 18). "Therefore...let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has set down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:1,2).
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