Mo pays for Gold

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the recent World Athletics Championships which took place in the Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow.  This despite the fact that the British men's sprint relay team brought us the usual disappointment when they were disqualified in the final (unbelievably, the sixth major championship out of seven that the team had failed to get the baton round properly - surely it can't be that hard!)

The British team returned home with 3 gold medals, thanks to Christine Ohuruogu's remarkable, never-say-die, victory in the women's 400m, and Mo Farah's brilliant double in the men's 10000m and 5000m races.  In winning those two events Farah became only the second man in history to become double Olympic and World champion over the two distances.

Wonderful as it must have been to accomplish such a feat, it is clear that Farah's gold medals have not been achieved without an immense personal cost. Just after his triumph in last year's Olympics, his wife gave birth to twin daughters.  When Mo was interviewed after his 10000m victory in the recent World Championships, he related how he had had to spend some months away from home as part of his training regime; when he returned home he discovered that his daughters did not recognise him, an eventuality which was clearly painful to him.

Mo is obviously a man who loves his family, and from the emotional way in which he spoke about the pain of being separated from them for a substantial period during the past year, there is no doubt that he feels the cost deeply.  At some stage he made the decision that the cost of separation from his family was a cost worth paying in attempting to win gold at the World Championships.  I'm sure that now the Championships are over, he will enjoy some quality family time!

I used Mo as an illustration in last Sunday's sermon when the theme was Sacrifice.  I pointed out how Jesus made it abundantly clear that the decision to follow him should not be taken lightly.  There is a cost to be paid, and that cost is our lives.  To live that authentic Christian life is to be willing to hand over control of our lives to God, to allow him to take the driving seat.  Jesus himself said, 'those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples' (Luke 24:33).  The potential Christian disciple has to do exactly what Mo Farah did: make a decision about whether they are willing to pay the cost.  The difference is that ultimately the Christian disciple receives something of far greater worth than a gold medal.  As St Paul writes, 'All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You’re after one that’s gold eternally.'  (1 Corinthians 9:25).