It's All About the Journey

1Corinthians 9:24-25 - Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now [some] do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.

My husband and I watched a program called America's Game. It was about the 1996 Green Bay Packers. That year was a defining one. Quarterback, Brett Favre, newly received receiver, Desmond Howard, and as reported, a one-time, ex-assistant tennis coach, Mike Holmgren, joined together for what could be called the year for the Pack.

Holmgren and Favre and Howard. A winning combination in 1996. But who would have guessed it at first? Holmgren took chances. After Favre was found to be under severe drug addiction, Holmgren decided to "clean up" this yet-to-be MVP quarterback (although good, old Brett has since come into some not-so-great attention). When Favre came out, however, he proved a winner after rehab. His claim to fame began as he matured in his ability to play football. He took the Packers to Superbowl XXXI to win against the New England Patriots taking the coveted Lombardi trophy back home to Lambeau Field in the frozen tundra.

Howard, not having a great past football record and given only a one year contract with the Packers, stepped up that same game to receive a pass and to magnificently run 99 yards for a touchdown, showing a strength and agility he had not previously had. He also proved himself. 

The game only got better. The score? Who knows? One thing that stood out in the program was what Favre mentioned as he stood on the winner's platform receiving all the cheers and adulation. It was his feeling of numbness over it all. The game was finished. Emotions ran high for awhile but soon he thought, Is this it? Shouldn't I feel more? It was eerie to him to have gone all this way only to feel like this.

The meaning of it all? In the locker room Holmgren, minus Favre who took off for the showers (he should have stayed!), told the guys, It's not about winning the Superbowl, it's the journey getting there, as he lifted up the trophy. And that's what it's like knowing the Lord. 

Every day is another part of the journey. One day He's quiet. One day He's gentle. Another day His sense of humor shows. Yet another day He's liable to reprimand. And every day He's wanting you to trust Him. As I've alluded to all this week, a life with and in Christ can be exciting. He speaks, He guides, He blesses, and He reprimands too! He wants our trust when He asks us to do something special...or when He wants to stretch us. But as we learn this about Him, trusting Him as the Authority over our lives gets easier. And it's not about us, but about Him in us working through us. 

The journey is always exciting. And in the end? We are told, according to the good works we do in Christ, we are given our own trophy...a crown...for every unselfish deed we did for God for someone else. And one day when we bow before the Lord, we will lay those crowns (trophies) down at the feet of Jesus. Why give them up? Only Jesus is worthy to receive these crowns because only He is exalted in our good works and because for us the journey with Jesus alone should be worth it. 

In doing a quick bit of checking on something about Holmgren, I came across this statement from an interview with him: Win or lose, I learned a long time ago what really matters: It's not Super Bowl rings, but the crown of eternal life Christ has won for us by his victory on the cross. As the Swedish hymn writer Lina Sandell put it: "Though he giveth or he taketh, God his children ne'er forsaketh, his the loving purpose solely to preserve them pure and holy."

He shared in the article how he met a woman who changed his life and he rededicated his life to Christ. They eventually married. Proverbs 3:5 became his personal line of scrimmage for which he dug in: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all of your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. As he began his coaching career his family and his professional opportunities grew. He added, But ambition was not the demon it had once been for me. My wife and kids were a daily reminder of both God's blessing on my life and his priorities.

What a surprising testimony he has. Sometimes you just don't realize how God is working in those around you. How ordinary people can become extraordinary when Christ is the foundation and center of a life. Totally blows me away. So there's still hope....for all of us. Through our walk with Christ, we can receive the greatest crown of all, the crown of life. That is one crown I don't think is taken away.

Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Be faithful unto death and I will give you a crown of life. (James 1:12, Revelation 2:10)