Thought for the day – Friday 22nd May 2020
Psalm 136
O, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good
For His steadfast love endures for ever
Endurance is not easy, not by any means.
Consider the story of Shun Fujimoto the Japanese gymnast. He puts the Olympic Games in an altogether worthy perspective. Now retired, Shun Fujimoto was 26 years old when he attended the Summer Olympics in Montreal in 1976 (that very hot summer).
During his exercises in preparation for the competition he fell and fractured his knee. His country’s team of gymnasts were in strong contention for a gold medal so Shun refused to give up despite the serious injury. He was fitted with a plaster cast from hip to toe.
Somehow he managed to compete. He gained the highest score of his life. He finished (can you believe it ?) with a triple somersault and twist that doomed him to excruciating pain when he landed. Yet he executed the manoeuvre flawlessly, maintaining his balance long enough to clinch the gold medal for his team. His leg crumpled grotesquely beneath him. The Olympic doctor said that it was beyond his comprehension how Shun could have landed without collapsing in screams.
Shun Fujimoto himself confirmed that the pain shot through him like a knife when he landed. “It brought tears to me eyes,” he said, “but now I have a gold medal and the pain is gone.”
The lesson for the Christian is that endurance may well cost and sometimes cost dearly.
You might even say that endurance is not endurance at all unless it does cost !
Remember the prize-giving. Shun Fujimoto wanted to help win a gold medal for his country.
Christians aim to claim, not a gold medal, but a crown.
Charles Wesley penned the words –
‘Bold I approach the eternal throne
And claim the crown, through Christ, my own’
(Singing the Faith 345)
Prayer
Lord. My God, with the unfailing support of the Holy Spirit,
help me to be faithful to the end.
For Christ’s sake,
Amen