Am sure all of us would know the name Maximilian Maeder by now. Max became a household name after winning an Olympic Bronze medal at the recent concluded Olympic Games in Paris. He had also set a record in history becoming the youngest Olympic medalist of Singapore at the age of 17.
To be honest, I didn’t even know this young man existed until his race took place right after the live telecast of our National Day Parade. When we found out that there was a possibility of Singapore winning an Olympic Gold medal again, my friends and I were cheering and hoping that he would beat the odds and win the gold medal. Even though he didn’t win the gold medal, am sure we are still happy that he won the bronze. After all, we don’t see many Singaporeans wining an Olympic medal.
In the days after that, I followed the news about him and his win for Singapore. I read about his parents, about how his dad introduced him to the sport when he was young and how they supported and encouraged him in the sport in his growing years.
One of the things that caught my attention in the news reports was the one that had the title, ‘Heartbroken’ but proud[i], where Max Maeder’s parents reflect on their child’s historic Olympic medal for Singapore.
In the article, his parents shared that Max felt sad after winning the bronze medal. He was hoping not to disappoint people, and so he felt like he had let a lot of people down.
They added that regardless of the final result, Max would have known that he could always count on his parents for support and love.
His father Valentin said, “Like I said before, we’re still proud of him win or not. He’s still the same Max.”
In another interview, he shared the following, “When you tell a kid, ‘You’ve got this’, parents think they are doing a good thing. But what they are really doing is loading them with expectations. They start to be a little bit afraid of disappointing you. Whereas you can do a soft little tweak to the message. From ‘You’ve got this’ to ‘We’ve got you, you’re safe, your family is a safe place, love is never in question’.”[ii]
I was encouraged to read about his supportive parents and how his parents continued to encourage him and support him – so that Max would keep his chin up and try again in the next challenge.
Despite the pressure Max was going through during the games, his parents made sure he knew that they would always be there for him. And even though he is disappointed that he didn’t win the Gold, am sure Max will keep trying his best for the next Olympics with the Gold medal in mind.
As I was reading the stories about Max, I came across this article “The beauty of “I’m Trying”[iii] written by Esther Liu, a faculty member of CCEF (Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation).
As I read the article, I thought it’s a good encouragement for us as Christians as well.
Here Esther the writer, shares that even in our disappointments of falling short, we can learn the beauty of these two words – “I’m trying.”
And she goes on to share how the people around Jesus, despite their failures in many ways, their actions revealed that deep down in their hearts, they do love Jesus despite them failing.
She mentions Peter – the disciple who denied Jesus three times despite declaring that he would always remain loyal.
This was something I often pondered about. How did Peter felt after denying Jesus? Did the memories of his denials kept eating at his conscience? Did he feel remorseful yet didn’t know how to make things right with the Lord?
Esther brings her readers to John 21 where we see Jesus appearing once more to his disciples. Peter and the other disciples had fished the whole night and caught nothing.
At the break of dawn, they heard someone calling out, “Children, do you have any fish?”
They answered, “No.” And the voice said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.”
In verse 7, we see this beautiful picture: “The disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea.”
When Peter heard that it was Jesus who was there on the shore, he jumped off his fishing boat right away and swam to shore where Jesus was.
I thought about what Peter did at that moment. What was going through his heart and mind? What made him decide to jump right in and swim towards his friend whom he had denied?
I guess deep down inside, he still loves Jesus, and he knows Jesus still loves him.
Shortly after, we read about the ‘fillet-o-fish’ breakfast Jesus had with Peter and how he restored Peter from his shame and recommissions him to ministry.
Here I quote what the writer shared in her article:
“In the gospels, we see people surrounding Jesus and the glimpses of their devotion to Him. Different people, different stories, some marked by failure and shame, different ways of expressing their love for Jesus, and yet in a significant way, it is clear that they are choosing him.
They are choosing to be with him and to do right by him. They are choosing to be for him, not against him—to move towards him, not away from him. Imperfectly, weakly, unimpressively, diversely—it is clear what or whom they have chosen.
Back to the phrase “I’m trying.”
This phrase is meaningful when we get caught up in anxious toiling: wanting to do better and measure up; to be less selfish or more disciplined; to be less constrained by physical limitations; to be a son or daughter, father, mother, husband, wife, a pastor, an elder, a deacon, a colleague, a friend, a church member — the list goes on.
These are all good things. But after a period of trying so hard to make these things happen, we still often fall short. Efforts seem fruitless. Things are still broken, and we ourselves are still broken.
In times of discouragement, we reach the point of desperation and say, “God, I’m trying.”
We wonder if that’s why these people surrounding Jesus have seemed so beautiful. In their imperfect, weak, maybe unimpressive ways, they are trying as well. We see the sincerity of their effort and heart. We see that they have sought to choose Jesus.
We see Peter’s desire to get to Jesus, especially given the shame he must have felt. For all these people, the encouragement is the fact that they even wanted to, that they tried, to follow Jesus. And when Jesus and Peter talk on the beach, Jesus’s question is “Do you love me, Peter?” Peter says, “Yes, you know that I love you.” Three times.
We may confront our failures and shortcomings on a daily, hourly basis, yet like Peter, we can say the same. “I do love you, Jesus. And I am trying to live a life pleasing to you because I want to, because you are worthy of it. While I know trying isn’t everything, I think it is something. Maybe not something to anyone else, but something to you.”
The Westminster Confession of Faith 16:7, speaks of the good works done by believers. It says,
“Notwithstanding, the persons of believers being accepted through Christ, their good works also are accepted in Him, not as though they were in this life wholly unblamable and unreprovable in God’s sight; but that He, looking upon them in His Son, is pleased to accept and reward that which is sincere, although accompanied with many weaknesses and imperfections.” – Esther Liu, CCEF Faculty
I thought about how Max is trying his best and even in win or lose, he knows he has the love of his family as his support and strength. The love his family has for him will keep him going as he tries and tries again for the challenges ahead of him.
We are all trying too. Trying our best to live out our lives as God’s children in our families, church, work, school, etc.
Like Max, who felt disappointed about himself for not doing better, we too may feel disappointed and discouraged about ourselves whenever we fail. We may feel disappointed by our ongoing struggle with our sins, our desires to be faithful or our many feeble attempts to serve God. And we feel discouraged with how we have fallen short in many ways.
Yet, we can rejoice that we have this promise and assurance that we are accepted through Christ – and that whatever good works we try to do, however imperfect and weak they may be – will be accepted by our Father in our Lord Jesus.
“We too can slowly learn about the heart of God, that he is pleased to accept in Christ that which is sincere, even if it is very imperfect. We can learn that God does not despise that which is offered in sincerity, even if it bears the marks of weakness. May we, as sons and daughters of our heavenly Father, empowered by the Spirit, keep trying. And may we know the pleasure our Father takes in our trying today.” – Esther Liu
Prayer
Dear Loving Father, thank you for your love and patience towards us. Thank you that we can always keep trying despite our weaknesses and imperfections and even in our failures, you keep loving us.
As we your children, serve you in the different roles you have placed us – in our families and as fellow servants in your church, may Your Spirit continue to give us your grace, strength and courage to keep trying. That in our trying, we may draw close to you and experience your hands upon our shoulders guiding us along the way.
In Jesus name we pray, Amen!
[i] https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/max-maeder-olympics-bronze-parents-valentin-hwee-keng-4538196
[ii] https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/max-maeder-olympic-medal-bronze-kitefoiling-maturity-elite-mentality-4537721
