It was the night before final team selection. I had been training with the Oxford University boat club for four months. We had started a month before the beginning of term and since then we had trained six hours a day, six days a week, every week. Early morning training on six out of seven days meant signing away any semblance of a social life, and all this for the sake of rowing success.
I had always made the team at school and rather fancied myself as a rower, but now I wasn’t so sure. Tomorrow was the final cut, and I was one of the four under the knife. For the two that didn’t make it, that would be the end. No consolation prize, no reserves team, just a quick word from the coach and then they wouldn’t be seen again. The atmosphere during training had a bitter edge, there was a little polite conversation, but you could see that inside everyone was nervous: the next days’ results would decide the success of their year, even of their time at Oxford.
From then on, how would they answer the question, “How’s the rowing?”? Would it be, “Great I made the team” or would they have to mumble out “I got dropped, I wasn’t good enough”?
For many, success in this world decides whether they feel accepted. And so everyone wants to be an achiever so that they will be accepted by be it by their teachers, their friends, their, parents, even by themselves. I wonder is that you as well? That was certainly how I worked. Everything, and everyone around me told me that life was about achievement, and if I wanted to be accepted I needed to be an achiever.
But over the course of my time at school I became a disciple of Jesus, and so when I sat on my bed that December, on the last night before team selection, as a follower of Jesus, I was able to open up this psalm and read with confidence, “O God you are my God, “. I cannot tell you what a joy it is to be able to speak those words and really mean them. You see for most in the rowing team, rowing success is their god, for others academic success is their god, or image, or relationships. The whole world around us tells us that life is all about GCSEs, sports teams, then A levels, University, degree, a massive salary, a nice big house, a beautiful wife or husband. The world tells us those are the goals of life. That is what really matters.
Sure, it’s good to give your all but achievement is a terrible thing to worship What if everyone thinks quicker than I do? What if they remembers more than me? Run faster? Make more money? Have a bigger house? are better at music? more popular? Looks better?. What if I’m never going to achieve?
The wondrous news for the followers of Jesus, however, is that achievement and acceptance by others just doesn’t need to be a worry, I don’t need to live with those goals. I knew that December evening that I need not worry about whether I get into the first team or the second team or even if I get dropped altogether. I don’t need to worry about acceptance by others. You see that’s not what life is all about.
You see, I can say boldly that I have been accepted by God, and that my ultimate goal is not boat race success, nor success in all my exams, nor getting on the rich list, or any other achievement, but my ultimate goal is heaven, eternity with God, where there will be no tears, no death, no mourning and no pain. And because of his amazing loving kindness, God takes me as I am, full of pride, hate, bitterness and godlessness, rowing blue or not. I can say that boldly not because of anything I have achieved, but because of what Jesus Christ achieved, dying on the cross to take the punishment for my sin. I can look forward to everlasting life, because God, the merciful, loving God of the universe, is my God. I pray that the same may be true for you.
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