Our questions are: Why and how should a Christian pursue athletic greatness? Or how can I justify my drive to become the best athlete I can be? We begin today with point number one.

A Christian can joyfully pursue athletic greatness because sports and competition fit into the very good of God’s original design.

Soon after putting my faith in Christ, I started a Bible study group that met once a week. We called it the Jesus Christ Discussion (or JCD), because I wanted it to unashamedly focus on Jesus. We didn’t really study the Word in a systematic way (yes, big mistake I know), but instead, sought answers to whatever questions people raised (and there were many).

When I look back on those weekly meetings, I realize that I was completely unable to answer a lot of legitimate questions because of one main fault: I did not understand the storyline of Scripture. Sure, I knew some things about the Bible. All the stories, most of the main teachings, but if you had asked me to explain to you how the Bible fits together into one coherent story, I would have had no clue. I probably wouldn’t have told you that, sadly, but I really would have been lost.

I realize now that when it comes to the topic of sports and competition (and a host of other topics), it is vital to understand the basic outline of the Bible. After all, you won’t find Paul or Jesus speaking specifically about sport. The answers may be there, but they can only be found when you understand the big story. Or at least the big outline of the story. In its most simplest form, the Bible’s outline runs like this: Creation, Fall, Redemption.

And it is especially in the first part of the outline that we find the necessary fuel to support my first assertion. For when we look at the creation accounts in Genesis 1-2, we find a very good God designing, in His words, a good creation and putting a very good man and woman in charge.

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping things that creeps on the earth.’

And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth…And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day” (Genesis 1:26-28, 31).

The interesting thing about this creation account, and the very important point related to our discussion of sport, is the simple reality that according to the Bible, God wasn’t done with His creative work after the first six days.

That may come as a surprise statement to some, but the reality is actually quite plain. Our good Creator fashioned us as His image-bearers to continue His creative work in the world. He created a paradise, but not the sort of paradise we too often (and misguidedly) daydream about today – you know, the place where we lay around and do nothing. Instead, He placed us in a perfect creation and told us to creatively and diligently bring out all the potential in that creation. In essence, He told us to get to work for our good and His glory.

Genesis 2:15 tells us, ‘The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.’ So God created man to garden His creation. But as any good gardener knows, man was not supposed to simply maintain the garden status quo (keeping everything the same), but instead, to maximize the potential of the garden for bearing fruit and everything else. Not only that, and this is very important for us, but as man was a part of the created order himself, his calling to develop the earth’s potential included developing his own potential, including His potential to create and participate in sport.

All that is a lot truth stuffed into blog-abbreviated form, but I do think it is faithful to the story of Scripture and more than applicable to anyone concerned with pursuing excellence in sport (or excellence in anything for that matter). For when we look at the very beginning of creation, we find that mankind had the freedom and power, indeed, the very blessing of a loving God, to develop and organize various kinds of games for his own joy and God’s own glory. Though it might not seem plain on the surface, sports and competition definitely do fit into the very good of God’s design.

Is there more to it than that? Of course, but I have limited myself to six points and isn’t it obvious that this is a big one? For we all know that sports (at least most of them) are good things, but this gives a foundational explanation as to why. And if you are in pursuit of athletic excellence, I can’t help but think that you will join me in giving thanks for such good news.