14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.
We are on the winning team. We are riding in the victory parade. We are sitting in the convertible limousine waving at the crowd. I don’t know about you, but there have been only a few times in my fifty years of life when I have experienced that sense of earthly elation. In high school I was privileged to be part of a world class band. When we performed, people showed up to listen to us. And when we won, which we did all the time, people cheered. We even went to Europe to compete and came in 1st place! When we arrived back at the airport in the States, there was a huge crowd, TV cameras rolling and we were at the center. What a feeling. I felt that feeling on my wedding day, and the birth of our children. The last time I felt that elation was when I stepped off the plane and kissed the ground following a tour in Iraq. There was no band, no crowd. No one was shouting my name. It was just me and the concrete. But I felt like I had been victorious. I had won my battle. Soon I was greeted by my wife and the rest is history. Far too often people don’t experience those moments enough in life. There are far more losers than winners. Remember, only the first person in the race wins; everyone else is a loser. I lose much more often than I win. That is the reality. You lose more often also. But in Jesus, we are winners every time. No matter what place we are in the earthly race, we have won the heavenly race. That is because Jesus won and we are included in Him. Everything that He accomplished, I get credit for in my life. He was victorious over sin, I get credit for it. So next time you and I come in some place other than first, just remember that the person in first place is all alone. And chances are there are many other races in that person’s life where they join the crowd in some place other than first. But you and I are always in first place, always winners when we are walking with Jesus.
The Arnold Journey 