Victory in Focus


Team sports are a beautiful construction. I grew up playing team sports and I am truly thankful for all the lessons I learned. The beauty of team sports comes from a diverse group of individuals making sacrifices and working hard in union with one another to pursue a higher goal. In pursuit of that higher goal, players learn selflessness and sacrifice, the value of hard work in pursuit of progress, and the joy of finding unity in diversity. In a team many players are gifted in different ways, but there is power behind their unity in diversity as they pursue their common goal. Teammates join themselves together and grow deep in their bond through practice, pain, blood, sweat, and tears. It is a beautiful thing to witness a team of uniquely gifted individuals as they find consensus.

Think about the Clemson Tigers, who just won the national title in college football. The team consists of a head coach, assistant coaches, and coaching assistants. There are the starting players on offense and defense, as well as the bench players. Some are stars and some are role players and some give their all in practice to help the best players prepare. Further, there are trainers, equipment staff, the band, colorguard, cheerleaders, and fans. Each of these individuals play a specific and unique role, yet all of them share in the glory of their team winning the championship because they are joined to their team!

In the same way, those who put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior come to be joined to him, and they receive glory when He receives glory. The apostle Paul writes about this in Romans 8, arguably the most beautiful and encouraging chapter in the enter Bible.

"So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him." (Romans 8:12-17)

 Paul says, we have received the Spirit of adoption as God's sons. We are sons of God and if we are sons of God we are heirs - we are co-heirs with Christ. All the riches that Christ receives, we receive. We will be glorified together with Christ. We are united with Christ as sons of God and thereby we are co-heirs. Like the members of a team, we receive a stake in the victory of Jesus!

However Paul offers up a caveat. He says, "provided we suffer with him (Christ) in order that we may also be glorified with him." (Romans 8:17) What does it mean to suffer with Christ?

We can look at in this way, sharing in Christ's sufferings as meaning we patiently endure the same suffering he experienced in the pursuit of his cause. We look at the life of Christ and we join ourselves to his life, seeking to become like him, seeking to help fulfill his purposes in our own individual lives as well as in the world. This is why Jesus tells us to "take up our cross." "Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (Matthew 16:24) 

We can't miss this: The victorious life is the self-denying, self-giving, forsake it all because Jesus is so good, sacrificial and obedient life. 

There's nothing better or more victorious than following Jesus with everything we've got, even when it means giving up things we've clung to so tightly. 

Being united to Jesus means denying ourselves and seeking to become like him. Being united to Jesus means we stop seeking our selfish purposes and start seeking his purposes. We live our lives in a manner of patient endurance in the way he did Being united to Jesus means joining ourselves to his life by taking up 'our cross' and following him, or as Paul says, "suffering with him."

Suffering with Christ means experiencing affliction, suffering persecutions in a like manner to him, and patiently enduring for the sake of advancing his kingdom. John wrote about Jesus as the light that came into the world to shine on the darkness. "In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:4-5) Those who are truly suffering with Christ are those who are laying down their lives in an effort to bring the light of Christ further and further into the dark, desolate, hopeless places in the world. They become like the members of the team, sacrificing and working hard as they pursue the victory of Jesus. And they will not be left without a stake in that victory. Paul tells us that those who suffer with Christ will be "glorified with him."

The definitions behind this idea of glorification can mean
to praise, extol, magnify, celebrate
to honour, do honour to, hold in honour
to make glorious, adorn with lustre, clothe with splendour
to impart glory to something, render it excellent
to make renowned, render illustrious
to cause the dignity and worth of some person or thing to become manifest and acknowledged

Those who suffer with Christ will be honored, celebrated, made glorious, adorned with splendor, renowned, and rendered illustrious. Those who suffer with him will be glorified with him in ways we cannot even imagine. I guess this is why Paul says next, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." (Romans 8:18)

What kind of people could we be if we lived with our focus on the victory?

One day, the light of Christ will shine over all who have put their faith in him. We get to share in bringing that about! Just like the members of a sports team sacrifice and sweat to gain victory, we get to share in the sufferings of Christ that bring about glory! So, let us work for the advancement of the kingdom of light and bring about the great day described in the end of Scripture:

"They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever." (Revelation 22:4-5)

 Amen.

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