Spotlight 03/2016: A victory in stages

Victory automatically makes me think of contests, of sports. Every competitor wants to win. And every competitor is aware that the list of losers will be far longer than the list of winners. A victory in sports always means the defeat of any number of other competitors.

But as Christians we want to gain the victory with Christ and, as the bride of the Lord, share it with many. There will be many winners. That is the big difference. Thank God!

A question of attitude

I would like to become a little bit more concrete and use an example from track-and-field discipline. Imagine there is a sprinting event with a number of sprinters at the start. Every sprinter wants to secure the title. That means that he has to go into the race with a positive attitude.

If a sprinter were to worry about all the unfavourable conditions, he would be focusing on things that could ultimately lead to his defeat. Maybe his training had not been optimal. Or maybe he feels that there are not enough spectators in the stadium and therefore not enough emotional support. Maybe the weather is not good or his physical constitution is not one hundred per cent. All these things can contribute to his losing right from the start.

A victory in stages

We could also agonize over the one or other thing. Maybe our churches were fuller a few years ago. Or maybe it was a busy week and then, on top of it, we still had a bad day at work. Maybe we had a disagreement with our spouse or another family member. All these things are not conducive to our really winning the race.

But let us remember what our Chief Apostle said at the beginning of the year: “Let us make the year 2016 a year of victory with Christ.” The aim is to gain many small victories over this period of time.

Let us start out with praise

To claim small victories along the way we have to recognize the greatness of the work of our eternal God. I am thinking about ways we can praise God. I do not mean that we should hold hands and sing hallelujah in future. Our liturgy does not provide for this. To praise God means that we should worship God already in the opening prayer of a divine service and thank Him for everything that we have received from Him so far. Let us worship Him as the Creator of heaven and earth, and thank Him.

We have the Apostle ministry and a faith with a wonderful goal. And we can walk the path of faith with our brothers and sisters, have experiences of faith, and we receive answers to our prayers along the way. Let us thank God for this in every divine service. By praising and worshipping God we will be able to gain many victories with Christ, even if the demands on us are quite ambitious at times.

Photo: romanolebedev – Fotolia