In an astonishing story titled “17-Year-Old Cooper Lutkenhaus Wins His First U.S. Outdoor Title in Dominant Fashion,” it was reported that “The rising high school senior capped off an incredible first professional season with a decisive win in the 800 meters.”
When interviewed later, Cooper talked about the previous season in which he became the youngest track star to sign with Nike, saying that this year might have been even more satisfying.
“I think this one might be a little more exciting just because, you know, I’ve been working all year for this,” he said. “I really wanted to be the U.S. indoor and U.S. outdoor champ. That was my main goal, you know, to be able to achieve that in front of such a great crowd.”
Reflecting on his first full season as a pro, Lutkenhaus gave himself a favorable grade.
“I would say [the season was a] 9.5 out of 10 if we’re going to go with a scale rating,” he said. “There are some things I really wanted to do this year that I missed barely, but I got a nice, shiny PR this year and won some big races so you can’t ask for much more…”
And, you know, while it’s one thing to give yourself a favorable grade for physical “performance,” it’s a whole other thing to give yourself a favorable grade for spiritual “performance.”
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23
You see, the Bible is very clear that God’s standard for a 10 out of 10 is to “be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” The problem with that though, is that no one is perfect. Even on our very best day, we all sin and fall short of the glory of God.
“For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” James 2:10
Furthermore, there are no “favorable grades” in the Kingdom because if you and I can’t achieve absolute perfection, we rate a zero… not a 1, not a 3, and definitely not a 9.5. Why? Because whoever stumbles in one point of the law, is guilty of breaking the whole law!
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.” Romans 5:8-9
This means that all who break the law, even by the smallest infraction, are worthy of death. But there’s good news! While we were still sinners, Christ died for us and gave us the gift of God which is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Do you get that? When we choose to accept Jesus as our Savior, we are “justified by His blood,” which means we appear before God just-as-if-we-had-never-sinned!
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
Is that amazing or what?
So, when reflecting back on your spiritual “performance,” remember that, by God’s standard (which is the only one that matters), we all fall short of perfection and would score a 0 out of 10 “if we’re going to go with a scale rating.” But, “by grace… through faith,” we can accept the gift of God and be saved.
Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that Your standard of being good is not like the worlds. Lord, help us to refrain from comparing ourselves to others, and thereby fooling ourselves into thinking we are better than we truly are. Help us to stay humble by always remembering that, without Your grace, we would be destined for hell. Thank You Father for the gift of Your Son and the eternal life He provided to all those who choose to trust in Hin. It’s in Your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.
Happy Running!
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