Setting the Bar
I was just thinking about high jumping - that track and field event we all remember since grade school. We understand the process - the participant sets the bar higher and tries to set a new record. That record becomes the new standard.
In 1968, a guy named Dick Fosbury revolutionized the sport with his "Fossbury Flop", setting a new world record in the process at 7'4.25". He also won a gold medal at the Mexico Olympics that year.
Today, the record is inconcievably higher - 8'.025". Think about that. If you measure the height from the floor to the ceiling in your home, it is probably 95", or 7'9". Stand there for a minute, look at that height, then add another 3+ ". Ready? Set? Jump! Impossible, we would say, and, undoubtedly, we would be right! Well, that record now represents the longest standing record in high jumping history.
The record has stood since 1993! And yet, in spite of it's imposing height and the impossible accomplishment, men and women have continued to strive to achieve that standard all these years. I like that picture.
All too often in life, we settle for the lower standard, oftentimes even preferring it. Our time to "make our mark" in this life, however, is running out.
This morning, I had the lyrics of a favorite hymnn going through my mind. It says "Live for others every day, be a blessing while you may, ever loving kind and true, Jesus like in all you do." This would be the standard I would like to dedicate my life to today and every day.
Have a special week! TP
