February 11, 2026

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter 1:3-5

Breezy Johnson (not related to me that I know of), won the gold medal in Women’s downhill Alpine skiing at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Cathi likes to watch the figure skating (yawn), I love to watch the downhill skiing, luge, bobsled and anything that goes fast and resembles NASCAR on snow or ice. So, I was excited to see that a B. Johnson won a gold in something fast and a bit dangerous.

Unfortunately for Breezy and for several other medal winners, their actual medals are defective and the clasp that attaches the ribbon to the medal has failed causing medals to break and at risk of being lost. Crazy, huh? Work so hard to be the best in the world at your sport only for your medal to be defective! Actually, Paul talked about this in 1 Corinthians 9:25. “Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.”

It's a tad embarrassing for the host country who is responsible for the medals, but a great reminder for us to keep our eyes on the real prize. Self-control, faithfulness, endurance through difficulty are all the gauntlets and training that we go through that deepens our dependency on Christ, and increases our affections for heaven.

Christianity is not cushy. It is a comfort, but not necessarily comfortable. Those who try to tell you differently are writing checks they cannot cash. God has promised suffering now, glory later. Difficulty now, rest later. Death brings life. Suffering leads to glory. We don’t trust Christ in order to get out of challenges, but because he is worth it, no matter what. He is worth it, because the crowns he gives are imperishable, undefiled and unfading.

Grace and peace,

Bob

Sunday’s Text: Luke 17:7-10