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2012 Theme - Raising the Bar
by Ken Treybig
In 1954 running a mile in less than four minutes was unheard of. No one had ever done it.
Then on May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister, a 25-year old medical student at Oxford, ran a mile in three minutes, 59.4 seconds, proving that a mile could be run in under four minutes. History was set and the bar was raised.
Since then, over a thousand men have run the mile in under four minutes. Along the way, in 1964 American Jim Ryun became the first high school student to run a mile in under four minutes. The bar has been raised, and many have aspired to jump over it. They are only able to achieve it by a lot of hard work and constantly pushing themselves to get stronger and faster.
Many sports have similar stories, and God inspired the use of sports analogies in the Bible. The apostle Paul compared the Christian life to a race in the Olympic Games in which athletes exhibit great bodily discipline in striving to win the race. We are encouraged to do likewise, but the great difference is that in a human race, only one person wins the prize. In our Christian race, we can all be granted the priceless gift of eternal life—a prize worth more than anything in this physical life.
What God asks of us, in order to grant us that marvelous gift, is that we put forth our best effort at whatever we do. (Ecclesiastes 9:10 says, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might.”) In addition, He asks that we continue to grow spiritually. (We read in 2 Peter 3:18, “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”) There is no room for mediocrity in the mind of Jesus Christ either. In the Sermon on the Mount He urges us to follow the difficult path and enter the narrow gate that leads to eternal life (Matthew 7:14) and to continue working toward perfection as our spiritual Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48).
He doesn’t ask the impossible of us. After all, eternal life is a gift that none of us can ever earn. But mediocrity and the idea of accepting less than our best by just staying static and not growing are not options for a Christian seeking to live forever in the family of God.
This year we will focus on “Raising the Bar” in our COGWA Youth Camps program. All our preteen and teen camps, as well as the Challenger program, will focus on this topic in the Christian Living classes and throughout camp. Each program will choose its own aspects to focus on in a manner that is appropriate, but all will encourage personal growth—in your relationship with God, in understanding His wonderful plan for you and in your example as a representative of Him by obeying His instructions. We won’t ask you to run a mile in under four minutes, but we will ask you to join us in seeking to become a better light to others of God’s way of life.
Don’t settle for mediocrity! There’s way too much of that around. Join us this year and learn more about pushing the limits of your personal growth by “raising the bar”!