OLYMPIC INSPIRATION
The Summer Olympics have concluded and what a great inspiration they were to so many people including me. There is much about these Olympics that speaks to me. Seeing the Christ the Redeemer statue each day was so beautiful. It was if Jesus was overseeing the Games. His open arms reminded everyone how much Jesus loves us and how he welcomes us to have a personal relationship with Him.
The individual stories of victory and defeat, tragedy and triumph, perseverance and determination motivate even the most cynical person. Michael Phelps solidified himself as the greatest swimmer of all time. His comeback from two DUI’s, a stint in rehab and suspension from USA Swimming show us how setbacks can be overcome. Phelps credits Pastor Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life with helping him to get his life back on track and ultimately led him to go back to swimming for one last Olympics.
Alison Felix is a personal favorite. She is the daughter of a pastor and is beautiful inside and out. She also happens to be the only woman track athlete ever to have six gold medals. She fought through many disappointments including not making the USA Team in the 200 meters because of injury and losing the gold to a diving Jamaican runner in the 400 meters. Yet, throughout it all she kept her Christ-like attitude and was rewarded with two more gold medals in the relays.
Some Christ followers may think these stories are great but have nothing to do with them. The thought is Olympic athletes are a special breed so their lives and competition have nothing to do with us. Nothing could be further from the truth. In I Corinthians 9:27 it says, “You know that many runners enter a race and only one of them wins the race. So run to win!” The Corinthians knew all about the Olympic games. Corinth was in Greece and they had the Isthmian games which were second only to the Olympics.
We are to be just like these Olympians. The only difference is we don’t compete for a medal we strive for a higher prize. God wants us to be winners in the game of life. He wants us to be disciplined and focused. He wants us to work as hard as we possibly can. God wants us to persevere through the challenges of life. He wants us to resist temptations and make the changes we need to make in our lives. He wants us to overcome our failures and refuse to quit. God wants us to run to win!
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