A Champion!

The Lord will march out like a champion, like a warrior, He will stir up his zeal; with a shout, he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies. Isaiah 42:13 God is my strength and defense. Exodus 15:2

This past Monday, the Georgia Bulldogs became the reigning National Champions of college football for the second consecutive year in front of a packed house, millions of viewers, and huge gatherings of supporters. The team played with amazing skill, precision, teamwork, and heart. There are so many individual stories on this team which exemplify the word, Champion, that it would be impossible to share them all. The real champions are the collective team, coaches, support staff and supporters who worked together to find a way to travel this road again.

The word, champion comes from the Latin word, campionem which means gladiator or fighter. A champion is defined as one who has defeated or surpassed all rivals in a competition or one who fights or argues for a cause on behalf of someone else. When the word is used as a verb, it means one who defends or supports the cause of someone or something.

Champions do not have to be part of a sports team, in fact, there are champions all around us in our everyday life. Sadly, most of the time we are too caught up with our own lives to notice. There are the champions of the countless men and women who serve in our armed forces keeping watch day and night so we can sleep safely at night. There are champion teachers who deal with our children and grandchildren daily helping them to become knowledgeable and respectful citizens. We have medical champions, personnel who work tirelessly to care for the sick and handle emergencies. There are parent champions who work daily to support their families and raise their children. We have unsung champions such as those who care for our elderly and feed and house the homeless amongst us. There are so many everyday champions.

Our country is fortunate to have had champions such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and others who worked to establish this country on Christian standards. We have modern day champions such as Martin Luther King, Billy Graham, and so many others who set standards to show us how to live in harmony. However, when it comes down to it, for the Christian, Jesus is the undisputed champion of our life.

What does it take to be a champion? More specifically, what does it take to for us all to be champions for Christ. First, I believe being a champion takes passion. Two teams which get to this point in their season must have a burning desire or passion to win. The Apostle Paul was a spiritual champion who said, “I run to win.” He had a burning desire or passion to serve his God .

A champion must possess discipline. Tom Landry, legendary coach of the Dallas Cowboys, once said, “The job of any coach is to make his players do what they don’t want to do in order to achieve what they’ve always wanted to be.” For a Christian to grow, we need discipline to grow, excel, and gain strength in our beliefs. Paul talked about the training we need to press on to the goal that is before us.

Champions have commitment. Just as a great team commits to the game, a Christian has to be 100% committed to their mission and completely focused on Jesus. Vince Lombardi was right on target when he said, “The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence.”

Finally, champions practice self sacrifice in order to develop character. There is a price to be paid to be a winner. Paul urged us to throw off everything that hinders us and run the race with endurance, Character for teams develop within the context and value system of their structure. For the Christian our character is simple, Christ likeness.

It’s a great time to celebrate the champions all around us and to develop the spiritual traits of a champion so that we can one day cross the goal line of glory.

Champions do not become champions when they win the event, but in the hours, weeks, months, and years they spend preparing for it. The victorious performance itself is merely the demonstration of their championship character. Alan Armstrong