Advent: The Gate of Heaven

It is the afternoon of September 25, 2000, and Jonathan Edwards is making his way to the triple jump final at the Olympic Stadium in Sydney. In his kitbag are some shirts, spikes, towels – and a tin of sardines.

Why the sardines? They have been chosen by Edwards to symbolise the fish that Jesus used in the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000. They are, if you like, the physical manifestation of his faith in God. As he enters the stadium, he offers a silent prayer: “I place my destiny in Your hands. Do with me as You will.” A few hours later he has captured the gold medal, securing his status as one of Britain’s greatest athletes.

Edwards’s faith was never an optional add-on. It has been fundamental to his identity – something that has permeated every fibre of his being – since his trips to Sunday school in the company of his devout parents; since he went to a Christian youth camp in North Devon and devoted his life to Jesus, tears streaming down his cheeks and his face glowing with divine revelation. Since he decided to risk everything to follow God’s revealed path, moving to Newcastle in 1987 to become a full-time athlete in the belief that his preordained success would enable him to evangelise to an unbelieving world; since he withdrew from the World Championships in Tokyo in 1991 because his event was scheduled for the Sabbath.

I want to tell you briefly of this man named Jonathan Edwards. No, for those of you thinking of the 18th century American, I’m not talking about him. I’m talking about a former Olympian from Great Britain who currently lives in Gosforth, England. Edwards has made many headlines since his retirement from athletics in 1993. He’s made headlines because his faith in God, once such a prominent part of his life, is gone. It seems that after his retirement he found that his athletics and his faith were so intertwined with his identity that when one was suddenly stripped away, the other was not far behind. I admire the man for his honesty as he explains his own journey away from faith in God toward an embrace of rationalistic thought. He explains, “When you think about it rationally, it does seem incredibly improbable that there is a God.”  While I think his statement comes through a set of naturalistic presuppositions, it does make a valid point: human wisdom alone will never find God.

While Edwards borders on atheism, there are many others who do believe in God but also struggle with his whereabouts. When tragedy strikes or the future seems particularly distressing, you may find yourself asking, “where is God in all of this? Why can’t I seem to find God?” The Biblical answer is simply this: God cannot be found within creation because He exists outside of it. There is no way for man, on his own, to find God. For God to be found, He must enter our world. He must come down to us. And that, of course, is one of the grand themes of the Bible. It is what Christ’s advent into the world is all about.

Because God comes down, the way to heaven is open. That’s good because every other way is filled with doubts and obstacles.

 

 Standard Podcast [ 42:36m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download