.olympic spirit.
22 August 2008the olympics are finally coming to a close and i can go to bed at a decent hour now. the past two weeks oleah and i have been staying up later than usual to watch the olympics. i confess we watched more tv than is typical for us. we’ve become very familiar with names such as johnson, liukin, sacromone, may-treanor, walsh, wilkinson, bolt and of course nicknames like the human fish, the professor, and the thin beast. we’ve watched history in the making (as was often our excuse to stay up a bit later), cheering almost all 8 phelps’ golds live, emoting with gymnasts’ highs and lows, and celebrating golds of men’s & women’s beach volleyball. we’ve been proud of univ. of florida alum that are olympians including la porta, lochte, torres, mitts, clement, and several others. controversies such as gymnasts’ ages, judges’ scoring, and touch pad timing will settle. i have an athletic background from childhood, but it’s only every four years that i get critical about an arabesque or salto from a gymnast, or a pike, tuck, and entry of a diver. we won’t be able to watch the final few days, as we have two very special weddings this weekend, one of which takes us out of town to atlanta.
nevertheless, it’s always good to be reminded about the olympics and its relation to the new testament. paul’s terminology in the nt was athletic in nature as the culture was very familiar with the ancient olympic games (and the isthmian games which were a bit more local). there is a spiritual race set for each one of us, and the reward is greater than gold. gold medals, fame, endorsements, and money are only temporary, but our souls are eternal. may we use the same diligence as an olympic athlete to be what God would have us to be as we run our spiritual race. the reward that awaits us is greater than that any olympic champion has ever received.
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. 1 cor 9:24-27
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