Spectators

No-one would think of running a race in the Olympics with a weight in their hand, or would they? FORREST SMITHSON won the obstacle race in the Olympic Games in London (1908), running and jumping with a Bible in his hand. By this act he testified to his faith in front of thousands of amazed spectators. His testimony was even more in evidence when he received the gold medal, and dedicated it to God!

Thousands of spectators: those people who observe what athletes do, and the style in which they perform, the watching public who can be entertained or let down according to the performance of others. All athletes have to come to terms with being in the limelight; they are surrounded by such a great crowd of people. Anything that they do is rapidly made public knowledge. Any gesture, any word or any situation is examined in detail, and often it becomes an example to others. So you can't deny that being an athlete is not an easy life.

But are you aware that you have around you more observers than the most famous athlete? I'm going to tell you something: your life is much more valuable because you are being observed without even realising it. There are people who see who we are, watch what we do and observe how we  behave. There are many people who depend on who we are and how we act.

Let me give you some examples.

1. 1. There are people who live all around us, who don't know God. To a certain extent, all that they understand about God depends on us.


2. 2. Our Christian 'family' are helped and encouraged by our example and dedication, and they learn from our faithfulness towards God.


3. 3. A proportion of the forces of evil are observing us, wanting us to fall in different situations. They delight in our failures, but are totally defeated when they see our confidence in God.


4. 4. There are hundreds of angels who learn spiritual lessons from observing us. They would give anything to be in our place but they work with us, giving us their help, always under God's instructions.

The Bible says that we have a huge crowd around us. Do you know that future history depends in part on what we do? God has named us co-workers in reconciling the world to him. When we speak of the gospel, we are sharing the good news of God with everyone. Someone's eternal life could be dependent on how we carry out this task! Yes, it is a fact that God speaks directly to people, without help from us, but the Bible says that he wants to use us as well. That means you and me. Thousands of people are watching us...