Recently, I traveled through my hometown and stopped to see my last surviving uncle. He is ninety-seven years old and is in a nursing home.
My uncle was quite an athlete when he was young. In the 120-year history of the town’s high school, he is regarded as one of its greatest athletes. He was a star on the basketball, football, and baseball teams. I remember that when I was in high school, the town had a parade down Main Street. He had graduated thirty years earlier, but he sat in the back seat of a convertible waving to the crowds who had come out to see stars from the past.
I heard many stories about his athletic accomplishments. I knew he had been a great athlete. In the high school gym and football fieldhouse, his name was plastered everywhere. I saw the trophies his teams had won in the state of Kentucky. In towns like ours, there is a close connection between athletes and the University of Kentucky. They all hope to go and play on the team there after high school. My uncle had the skill but was too small in stature to reach that level. His excellence was the result of hard work and determination.
When I visited my uncle, he was excited to see me. He was wrapped in a University of Kentucky blanket. There were athletic posters on the wall. On the wall above his head, there was a license plate bearing our high school’s name and mascot. He had graduated eighty years earlier, but he was still proud of his past athletic glory.
Sports play a valuable role in the lives of many people. They can have a very positive impact as they teach things like the importance of perseverance and what you can accomplish if you work together as a team. My uncle is justified in being proud of what he had done.
But let’s be honest. All of it is glory that fades. My guess is that not a single person in that nursing home remembers what my uncle did on the football field or basketball court. His memories are his own. Only he can hear the applause of the crowds, and the noise exists only in his mind. Paul put it very simply in 1 Cor 9:25. He spoke about the athletes of his day. They competed in games for which they received trophies and crowns, just as my uncle did. The winners had their names placed on columns and received the applause of the crowds. But, Paul says, the things they won, such as crowns, were perishable. The day would come when they would all fade away, and nobody would remember what great things they had done. I was reminded of that in my uncle’s room.
But Paul also spoke of trophies and crowns that are imperishable. He was talking about the trophies the Lord will give out to those believers who have been faithful and have persevered for Him. All believers will be in the kingdom, but some will be stars who will shine in that kingdom.
What will it be like for those believers? We do not know exactly, but in some ways, their names will be engraved on permanent columns (Rev 3:12). They will have parades in their honor. And the glory they receive from the Lord will never fade. In fact, it will grow through the years into eternity.
My uncle has basked in a fading glory for eighty years. I have talked with him about the good old days on many occasions. It has been fun. But the luster is almost all gone, and is about to disappear.
Imagine what it will be like to be a star in eyes of the King of kings. Wouldn’t it be great to get a few trophies from Him?
