Aug 7th, 2021: A Lesson to Learn


I went to have breakfast with a friend, and we got the chance to watch the Women Soccer Olympics Gold Medal game between Canada and Sweden. It was a tied game after regular time and extra time. Canada won the game with the penalty kick. One of the key players for Canada is Christine Sinclair. She has been a player with Team Canada since 2000. She has become such an example to many young soccer players in Canada. When people talk about her, they use nouns such as commitment, dedication, competitiveness, and endurance to describe her. She indeed deserves such accolades.


I have also been thinking a lot about many of my friends and where they are today. Some of them are doing amazing things for God and His people. However, many have either left the faith or given up. They have decided to choose different paths of life because of life challenges and power temptation. I recently ran into one of them who is working for a financial services business. He shared with me a lot of things, and nothing was about God. He told me that he is thinking about things differently now and does not see the necessity to believe in God.


Having a life of faith is like being on a sports team. We win some, and we lose some. However, we know that we will win the ultimate prize in the end. It is a journey with many demanding competitions. We encounter disappointments. We also experience moments of hope and episodes of despair. Some players will quit soon after training camp because they realize that this is a lifelong commitment. Some decide to leave because they get "better offers" from other teams. Some quit because they don't get their way.


So as I cheer for Christine Sinclair and Team Canada, I am grateful for the many teammates I still have in the faith. I am just praying for commitment, dedication, and endurance as we learn how to be in the world and not of it.


2 Corinthians 4: 16-18

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

 

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