Whether or not you agree or disagree with the location of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, we cannot forget the young men and women that have trained so diligently to represent our nation. On one of the national television stations, you may have noticed that the time has come for the final competitions to establish who will in fact characterize the people of our country to the other nations of the world. It is truly amazing to see how these men and women, many of them teenagers, have absolute control over their bodies. It is more than apparent that these individuals have prepared for hours upon hours for this moment in their lives. Some will make it and many will not. Some of them will see their dreams materialize before their eyes and become a reality while others will train for four more years in hopes of competing for our country at the next Olympic Games.

It is no surprise that the apostle Paul often used this theme of competition as a backdrop in many of his letters to the early church. In fact, we accredit the Greeks with the founding of the Olympic Games so there must have been a competitive spirit among them from the beginning. The apostle Paul writes, "²⁴ Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. ²⁵ Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. ²⁶ So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. ²⁷ But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified." (1 Cor. 9:27, ESV) He is telling them that he disciplines his body not for the sake of winning a wreath, which will perish, but for the sake of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

As the 2008 Olympic Games approach, begin, and end, pray for those that are there for the purpose of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For those of us in the Southern Baptist Convention, we our giving is actively at work in China. Recently, the Baptist Press posted an article about Shi Weihan that was imprisoned for selling Christian books and experiencing persecution for following Christ. You can read more about him and his family here. Pray for all of these to remain disciplined and to run the race with endurance knowing that the rewards they will receive will never pass away but will live for eternity.