The heart of a champion

If you live in Australia, then you know that January is the season of tennis and cricket. As a young child, I grew up watching both of these sports because my parents love cricket and my grandma loves tennis. Australians can get very passionate when it comes to their sport and when the tennis and cricket are on at the same time there is often more battles in Australian households as to which one will be watched than in the actual game itself!

I have since inherited my grandmother’s passion for tennis and I am now an avid fan. I love it! And like any fan, I have my favourite players who I love to watch and barrack for and scream at the TV for in the comfort of my own lounge room!

But it is not just watching the player’s that I enjoy about tennis. It is the battle on the court that occurs during a good tennis match, as each player tries to outwit their opponent with agile thinking displayed fighting to hear the phrase after a long battle “game, set and match!”.  A good tennis match can have you glued to the screen, on the edge of your seat, screaming at the TV and clenching your hands as you see them fight it out. This year’s Australian Open Final was no exception. Although my favourite player was no longer in the tournament, I had to watch the final to see who would win the trophy. Who would win the Australian Open title after two long weeks of tennis and many matches fought and battled to advance to the final? Who would win the glorious title of Champion?

What many tennis fans witnessed that night of the final though was not a match about the glory of winning. It was not a match about who would win the battle of the mind. It was a match that displayed the glory of suffering. Rafael Nadal, current world number one in tennis, had been suffering from a lower-back injury that seemingly caused him to lose focus, lose energy, and at one point lose hope. At one point in the second set of the match, Nadal was teary as he seemingly lost the will even to try, serving haphazardly, making many faults and errors so much so that he looked as though he was going to quit and retire the match. Whether you are a Nadal fan or not, your heart had to go out to him as you looked on with each serve and each return and you watched a champion suffer.

However, Nadal did not quit. Something inside of him caused him to persevere. The heart of champion is definitely one who doesn’t give up even through pain and suffering. The heart of a champion is one who is inspired by something more than winning. Nadal fought through that entire match – blocking out pain, blocking out the crowd, blocking out the score on the board, blocking out the odds that he had already lost the championship. He fought.

And yes, he did lose the championship. But what he gained was the glory and respect from many who witnessed this man’s fight to the end of a tough match through the midst of suffering. My question is  - would Nadal have gone out onto that arena and entered that court and began that match, if he knew what was going to happen and if he knew the end result? If he knew he was going to suffer throughout the game, would he have played that day?

I believe the answer is yes. Because he has the heart of a champion.

Two great men of the faith, Paul and Peter, were both told by Jesus that they would suffer for his Name. In John 21:18, Jesus reveals to Peter how he will give up his life for the name of Jesus. In Acts 9:16, Jesus says of Paul “I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

Did Paul and Peter give up their battle to win hearts for Christ because they knew they would suffer?

No – because they had the heart of a champion. One champion inside them both, spurring them on.

They had the heart of Jesus, the ultimate suffering servant who came to glory, within them. Paul in fact states that he counts all his sufferings as loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus Christ.

We also must suffer much. We are told in scripture that we must experience many trials and hardships to enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22.) But Jesus said “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart for I have overcome the world.”

What enables us to persevere in the midst of suffering when everything looks lost, when the score on the board is dismal, and the will to keep trying is all but lost?

The heart of the champion, Jesus, inside of us…….

because he has already overcome the world.