4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:4–5)
Soon we will again become engrossed in the worldwide athletic competition known as the Winter Olympics. We will again experience “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.” This narration used to accompany the theme song to my favorite Saturday afternoon program while growing up, the “Wide World of Sports,” and it was uttered as a ski jumper went sideways at the bottom of the ramp and suffered a horrible crash (but lived). The question in athletics is always, will he or she or they prevail against long odds. Will he or she or they overcome?
The word “overcome” is a translation of the Greek word “nikon,” which means to conquer. In fact, the athletic shoe company “Nike,” took a derivation of the word as its name. It is great theater to witness someone win an unexpected victory, to have that gold medal draped around their neck. These verses address who wins in God’s eyes, and how they overcome the insurmountable odds we face in this world against death.
Our formula for success does not call for endless workouts and an obsession with diet and discipline, but our faith. Victorious athletes will always claim that they stand on the podium because of their faith in themselves. We are victorious because of our faith in God. Nothing else works in the spiritual realm.
The core of this belief is that Jesus was and is the Son of God. It boils down to this. Many trip over this truth and lose their balance. They fail in what matters most in life. Eric Liddell (Chariots of Fire) understood this as he completed in the 1924 Summer Games, having first stood up for God by refusing to run on Sunday. He stood fast in his faith against significant peer pressure to run. In the end, he competed in a longer race, one in which he was not favored, and won. The Lord helped him overcome the odds, but more importantly, win the race that matters the most.
We will get our time on the podium before him if we stay true to form, and we’ll testify that we’re only there because of our faith and belief in him, not in ourselves.
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