It weighs almost 7kg (13.6lb), is made of 18 carat, hollowed gold and is 26.5 centimeters (14.4 inches) tall. Although its real value is probably less than $100,000 its intrinsic value far exceeds that. It may be regarded as priceless.
The former Jules Rimet trophy was stolen in 1983 and never recovered, although it had already passed into the perpetual possession of Brazil after they won the world cup three times. In 1997, a Jules Rimet trophy was auctioned and bought by FIFA for about $250,000, almost ten times the reserve price, but it was later found to be a replica of the original, which remains lost.
In 2038 it may be due for replacement when all the available name plates provided on the current trophy will have been used up.
So much for the trophy that is up for grabs in tonight’s final game of the 2010 World Cup. Either Spain or Holland will claim the prize, although the original will not be allowed to depart from the inner sanctum of FIFA. Whoever wins, will at best only have a replica, but the symbolism of the moment will be more than real.
This is the greatest sporting prize of all. It is one of the most treasured trophies or prizes in the world and the prestige that accrues to the winning team will be beyond measure.
There is another trophy, of even greater worth and surpassing significance, which God has extended to all who will run their race and finish their course. That trophy is reserved for all who overcome. It is not a winner takes all trophy, because everyone who crosses the line before the fatal cut off time, will win the trophy.
The trophy is not just the award of eternal life, but all the extended blessings described in Revelations 2 and 3. It will include the prize of a new name – a very valuable reward that reflects the ultimate approval of the greatest of all fathers, who reserves the sole paternal right to name His own. It will also give us access to the tree of life, that long lost fount of life that, once denied, reduced Adam and Eve to mere mortals. There is also a hidden pot of manna, the provision that God has made for our sustenance. We will also be clothed in garments of righteousness, freed forever from the nakedness that has haunted our souls on this mortal plain.
For the victors there will be a victory gala, a banquet where we will feast on the abundance of glory and break bread with our king. A place of habitation is also reserved for those who overcome and Jesus has spent the last two thousand years preparing that place. Aside from the wonders of its construction, it offers an unbelievable view of the vastness of the created universe and the awesome power it contains. We will have a front row view of the creation of stars, the explosion of super novae, the formation of new worlds, the coursing of comets and the frontiers of this great universe.
There is a race to run, a fight to win. At times we may feel that the burdens are too much and the price too high, but by His grace we can and will overcome. He will fulfill every promise in us, until the ordinary souls that we are, are crowned with glory.
(c) Peter Eleazar @ www.4u2live.net
(c) Peter Eleazar @ www.4u2live.net
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