Today’s Scripture reading is from the common lectionary. As Barbara pointed out last Sunday all of our Scripture passages in Lent will be from the lectionary,—which is a three year cycle of Bible readings for use in the worship life of a church. It just so happens that today’s passage from Philippians would’ve served as a fine passage for the recently completed "Is This Heaven?" series. That’s not my focus today, but listen for it as I read from Philippians 3:17-4:1. (Read)

Did you enjoy watching the Winter Olympics? I certainly did. It is a great spectacle, isn’t it? Even encouraging a bit to watch athletes from nations all over the globe peacefully competing (for the most part!) against each other for Olympic medals. That’s one of the things I enjoy most. Watching Lindsey Vonn win her gold medal in the downhill was great, but I think I might’ve enjoyed just as much watching the women’s super combined in which Lindsey Vonn fell in the slalom portion and did not finish. I enjoyed watching not because of Vonn’s fall, but because of the obvious friendship and concern expressed by Maria Riesch from Germany who won the gold medal. Riesch seemed truly saddened and concerned about Vonn’s fall as she watched it happen and then met Vonn at the finish line for a consolation hug. I like that kind of stuff.

So, I find it interesting—and somewhat disconcerting—when there’s so much emphasis placed on the nations’ medal count. News stories frequently opened with the latest tally of the total medal count of each country—the obvious concern being for where the United States stood. The Canadians made it a matter of national pride, citing their hosting of the games and the need to "own the podium" (I believe was their unofficial slogan for the Vancouver games). You, no doubt, are aware that the current medal count stands at

United States 9 14 13 36

Germany 10 12 7 29

Canada 13 7 5 25

Norway 8 8 6 22

Austria 4 6 6 16

All of this came to my mind as I pondered Paul’s words from our Scripture passage for today about our "citizenship" being in heaven. What would the Olympics look like if we took that seriously? Would we show the medal totals for Christians and non-Christians? Would there be a "heathens" category? Categories for atheists and agnostics? I wonder what the medal ceremony would like. Would we raise the Christian flag for gold medal winners? What "anthem" would be played? "Onward Christian Soldiers?" I hesitate to mention it for fear someone will think it an interesting idea and we’ll begin to see such a thing at a coming Olympics! The Fellowship of Christian Athletes website showing a page with the medal count by religions…or some such thing. All of that, however, begs the question: How much do we value, or even recognize our citizenship in heaven?

Taking seriously our "citizenship in heaven" certainly brings changes to one’s perspective. To begin with, it changes our perspective at to exactly what the contest is all about. Paul occasionally uses athletic language to describe the journey of faith.

For example, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27: "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." Or, just a few verses earlier in Philippians: "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus," (Philippians 3:12-14, TNIV). I think if Paul were writing to us today he’d say that the faith journey is like the Olympics. Compete with the goal of winning a gold medal. Go into training in order to win the prize—a gold medal for faith.

The contest, the Olympics of faith, if you will, is to (1) know Christ, (2) become more like Christ, and, (3) bring others to knowledge of Christ. That’s it. That’s the contest in which we participate as citizens of heaven. It’s not the accumulation of material things. It’s not rising up the corporate ladder. It’s not even winning Olympic gold. The contest is to know Christ, to become more like Christ, and lead others to knowing Christ and becoming more like him. That’s it. That’s the race that we, as citizens of heaven, are called to run. Now, we may be given jobs to do and skills to do those jobs. Someone might even be given the skills of an Olympic athlete and train to compete at the highest levels of their sport. But the ultimate contest, for a citizen of heaven, is to know Christ, become more like Christ, and help others do the same. We do our other jobs to the very best of our abilities, not for the rewards it might bring to us, but to honor Christ. As Paul says in Colossians, "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him," (Colossians 3:17).

The Olympic athlete who is a follower of Jesus trains and competes at the highest levels, not solely for the glory of an Olympic medal, not even primarily for an Olympic medal, but rather for the opportunities it might provide for him or her to represent the God they serve and share their faith with others. Understanding your citizenship to be in heaven changes your perspective about what exactly the contest of life is all about. What a marvelous gift that is! Not everyone can participate at the level of an Olympic athlete. Not everyone can be the CEO of a large corporation. If that’s what the "contest" of life is all about, then there are a lot more losers than winners. But it’s not. The contest is about knowing Christ, becoming more like him, and helping others to know him and grow more like him. And everyone can compete in that contest, pursuing the prize for which God has called them heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Having our citizenship in heaven also changes the way one views heroes and role models. The real heroes are the heroes of faith. The real role models are those who serve as examples of a person of faith. Paul’s words in our Scripture reading for today are bold words because he’s basically saying "follow me as an example for your life." That takes confidence and boldness. I admire athletes and their skills and dedication to their sport. I find tragic, however, when that is the total focus of their identity. How they feel about themselves depends upon how things went in that day’s competition. Can you imagine how that Netherlands speed skater is feeling today—the one who lost sure Olympic gold because his coach told him to make a lane change when actually he was not supposed to do that and he was disqualified? If all his identity is tied up in his competition for Olympic gold...how does he deal with that disappointment today? Or his coach? It must feel like the end of the world. Or athletes for whom competing or participating in sports is everything, so much so they can’t imagine themselves doing anything else—perhaps don’t want to imagine themselves doing anything else—and so they tend to hang on for too long. I’ll take a Kurt Warner any day—participated in his craft, professional football, at a high level, but kept his perspective of faith at the forefront throughout. He "talked the talk and walked the walk" as they say, and when the time came for that career to end he was prepared to move on to the next thing God has prepared for him to do. It’s why I enjoy Faith Day at the Rockies—not only a day to sit outdoors and enjoy a game, a pleasant experience on its own, but also to hear from some of the players about the importance of their faith in Jesus Christ. (Faith Day at the Rockies is August 15^th by the way!) Dedicated and skilled at a high level to their particular craft—yet also aware of what is truly important in life.

Recognizing your citizenship is in heaven changes everything. It leads to recognizing what the real contest in life is—to know Christ, to become more and more like him, and to lead others to knowing Christ. Citizenship in heaven means to do the very best we can in whatever task God brings to us—whether mundane work in a factory, whether executive leadership in a Fortune 500 company, whether athletic skill qualifying for Olympic competition—giving our best not for material gain, but to honor our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, always alert for anyone God might bring across our path that we might help them to know Jesus also.

During this Lenten season, I encourage you to take time to reflect on what is really most important in life. To reflect on the cost Jesus was willing to pay to establish your citizenship in heaven and how you might respond with gratitude by running the race as best you can to achieve the prize for which God has called you heavenward in Jesus Christ.

One final image for you from our Scripture reading for today. The passage concludes with Paul’s words of affection and encouragement for the people of Philippi: "Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends," (Philippians 4:1; TNIV). That word "crown" is an interesting word. There are two words for crown in the Greek. One, diadem, is the word for the crown of a king. That’s not the word Paul uses here. Instead, he uses the word stephanos, which is the word for the crown (laurel wreath) given to athletic champions. Or, one might suggest, the word used for medals given to Olympic champions. In other words, the medals that revealed how well Paul was running his race included the people of Philippi. They are his medals, the goal for which he was competing as a citizen of heaven. Think about that for a moment. For whom are you a medal? Who are the people who ran a good race for you, serving as a witness to you through their words and deeds bringing you to saving faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and faithful service to Jesus Christ as Lord? Those are the real heroes in life and you are like a gold medal hung around each one’s neck.

Furthermore, who might be medals hung around your neck? Who might you refer to as "my joy and crown?" And who might be out there, a medal yet to be bestowed on you because of the faithful race you’ve run? Let’s take a moment for silent reflection and prayers of gratitude for those who served as examples of faith for us…and for those who are our joy and crown, our medals in the contest God has called us to compete in.