The Olympic wrestler gazed thoughtfully at the gold medal hanging on the wall above his desk. The sight of that medal brought back a lot of memories, some of them pleasant and some of them painful.
He had just returned from his victory tour around his native country. He was the first person from his country ever to have won any Olympic medal, let alone a gold medal. Without any question he was the nation’s favorite son, and the applause of his fellow countrymen had been very sweet indeed. He could still hear the cries of “well done” which had echoed down the streets of every city and village he had visited.
Yet the victory had not come without a price.
He remembered the day of the championship match, when his coach had discovered that he was several pounds too heavy to be allowed to wrestle in his weight class. He had been given immediate orders to cut out all food and drink in an effort to lose the necessary pounds to qualify for the match.
It had been, quite honestly, the most miserable day of his life. All that day he had exercised strenuously to sweat off extra moisture. All that day he had gone without food while his teammates had dined on the best-looking meals he had ever laid his eyes on.
But the worst trial had been the thirst. He had pled with his coach for just one swallow of water to quench his burning tongue, but all through the long afternoon he had been denied even this one small pleasure. The coach knew that even one extra ounce of body weight could mean the difference between winning the match and disqualification.
His coach had continually reminded him that the suffering would last “only for one day.” And now, looking back, he had to admit that his coach had been right. Although it had seemed like a very long day, it was still only one day.
And now, as he sat gazing at the medal and recalling the praise of his countrymen, there was only one thought that he could bring himself to think: it had been worth every minute of it.
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We can only speculate about the details of the reception Fabiola received as she passed from this life and into the presence of her Lord. We can, however, be sure of one thing: the rewards of the next life have been and will be far in excess of anything we could ever imagine.
Perhaps there is still, as with Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom, a memory of the trials of her earthly life. She may well remember the suffering, the solitude, and the poverty. She may well remember the years of walking a lonely road while most of her friends, Christians and non-Christians alike, enjoyed the blessings of family life. She may well remember the fierce internal battle she faced as she wrestled with the words of Jesus and what it was that He was calling her to do.
Although the years had seemed long and burdensome, she had found strength in the peace that comes from sins forgiven and a life of holiness before God. She had continually reminded herself of the brevity of her life and the length of eternity. And she had read often the words of Paul in Romans 8:18, where he stated that “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
And now, looking back, she had to acknowledge that these words were true. Although the years had at times seemed long and the loneliness had at times seemed overwhelming, now that she had passed into eternity the period of hardship looked very short indeed. And beyond a shadow of a doubt, the struggle had been worth every minute of it.
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)
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