It is games galore this summer! The European football championship will get to its climax this Sunday with the final. Various countries that are represented in our church community can still be crowned winners of this soccer tournament! On the same day, the Wimbledon tennis tournament will culminate in the men’s final. The classic cycling competition Tour de France is racing through France and will climax on Sunday a week later.
And if that is not enough, on July 26th, the Olympics start in Paris. It is still unsure whether the swimmers will be able to swim their race in the dirty river Seine or not; but race they will!
I’m enjoying all that adrenaline and sportsmanship. I love the emotion and the engaged crowds who are watching, cheering and screaming. But sometimes I also think of the saying ‘Bread and Circuses’ to pacify the people. There is much going on in our world, but it seems that 22 men kicking a piece of inflated leather around a grass field seem more important than solving serious issues.
Here is a thought from the Bible: 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. 1 Corinthians 9:23-25
We need to focus on running the right race, with the right attitude and appropriate effort. It is not for a shining cup or a big bonus we are training and putting in effort. It is for a glorious inheritance that is waiting for us. What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him. 1 Corinthians 2:9
Let’s get that prize!