What a Summer!

What a summer it has been!  As I write this, the last few events of the Paralympic Games are taking place, and that, following the Olympics and the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, have made it a golden few months in all sorts of ways.  Suddenly being British seems to be popular again.  Even the sun is shining at the moment!

After weeks of watching the medals stack up at the Olympic Park, lots of people are wondering how they are going to get back to normal.  The politicians and sports officials who brought the Games to the country are hoping that they will have a long term effect which lasts well past this summer.  All along they have hoped that it will encourage us to be more athletic and to get involved in sport of some sort.  With obesity such a problem to the health of the nation, and the finances of the NHS, anything that encourages people to exercise more will be grasped at with both hands.  However young or old we are, regular exercise is important for a healthy body and mind.

 Over July and August we saw how the Apostle Paul drew on the athletics event of his day to illustrate truths about the Christian living.  We read about ‘running a race’ and ‘winning a crown’, and were reminded about how we need to dedicate ourselves to Christian living, with a single-mindedness like that which we have seen in the sporting heroes of this summer.  The Apostle also speaks about ‘exercise’ in one of his letters.  In 1 Timothy 4:7,8 we read this;

“ … exercise yourself toward godliness.  For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.”

 Physical exercise is good for us.  Even if we are old, and all we can manage is to walk around the living room once or twice a day, it gets the blood circulating and keeps the muscles active.  Younger people jog, swim, walk, cycle, lift weights and do all manner of other things in the hope that the day they ‘get old’ will be delayed as a result.  But the Bible reminds us that physical exercise only has limited benefit.  At best, it may only delay the day of our departure from this world, and it has no effect in eternity. 

Instead, Paul points to a more worthwhile type of exercise.  We should aim to be godly!  That, he confidently asserts, has benefits in this life and in the life to come.  We are created in God’s image and for fellowship with him.  That must mean that the more ‘godly’ we are the more we are reaching our human potential.  Godliness – being like God in our attitudes, actions, thoughts and deeds – is, of course, as alien to us as physical exercise to a ‘couch potato’, but without it we cannot enjoy God or true life.  And whereas the benefits of physical exercise stop at death, the godly man or woman has the promise of life eternal where God will be enjoyed forever. 

What sort of exercise have you done today?  Physically and spiritually? 

Life's Olympics

What a memorable afternoon it was in the centre of Pontypool last month!  Thousands celebrated the visit of the Olympic torch in the warm sunshine!  Quite a few church members were there, and though I didn’t see it, I’m reliably informed that one of our very senior members was seen hanging on to a gate to get a better view!  No names, but you know who you are!

It was a ‘once in a lifetime’ event, not just for those of us who packed the pavements.  It was especially so for those who had the honour of taking part in the relay.  Male and female, young and old, famous and ‘ordinary’, they had been chosen to play a part in this great procession that leads ultimately to the Olympic Stadium in London next month.  300 meters or so had been allotted to each of them, and it was their job, as thousands looked on, to get the torch to the next runner.  I saw some of them interviewed on the television, and they spoke about the advice they had been given by family and friends, most of which it seems had revolved around not falling over and keeping looking forward.

There is, of course, a sense in which we, as Christians, are part of a great relay race.  As the old hymn reminds us;

          “We bear the torch that flaming, fell from the hands of those,
           Who gave their lives proclaiming that Jesus died and rose”

And it was a similar thought that came to mind the following Sunday, as we were reminded at the Communion table of those words of the Apostle;

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:1-2)

The Apostle Paul, who was familiar with Greek athletic competitions like the ancient Olympics, often used the picture of a race to remind us of our Christian lives.  Just as the runners in the torch relay, and in the Games themselves next month, wear nothing that holds them back, so you and I need to be ruthless with the sin that traps us and drags us down.  Just as each torchbearer had an allotted section that was their responsibility to run, so God has given each of us a time and a place where we must serve Him with endurance.  Just as each of them had to look for the next person, the one who would take the flame from them, so we, as God’s chosen ones, have to keep our eye on a Person, the greatest person – the Lord Jesus Christ!
What was the reward for each of those participants we saw running in the Eastern Valley sunshine that day?  The fame, the glory, and the chance to buy for £200 or so the torch that they had carried.  Those who run in the Games themselves will get a medal – at least if they finish in the first three, that is!  For those of us who run this race with perseverance, there is “laid up for me, the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge will give me on that day” (2 Timothy 4:8).  What a reward!  So keep running!