It’s that time again: the quadrennial event known as the Olympics – specifically the Summer Olympics – being held this year in Tokyo, Japan. Once again, I decided to sit this one out and not personally go for the gold. Partly, it’s because I have spent too much time writing blogs instead of working out, and partly because I just can’t make up my mind as to which sport I should enter: men’s gymnastics, street skateboarding, or the men’s high hurdles. I guess my biggest hurdle is getting in shape to compete in any event. But don’t count me out; back in junior high I ran low hurdles in competition and came in third in my race (so what if there were only three runners and I knocked over a hurdle in the process).
These competitions are not new. The modern Olympics were started back in 1896 in Athens, Greece, and have been held ever since, except for cancelled games during the two world wars. But the Olympics go back even further, of course, to ancient Greece, when athletes from the various Greek city-states would gather at Mount Olympus to compete for olive leaves and crowns. Interestingly, the Greek name for those games was Olympiaki agones; we get our word, “agony” from the intense physical strain of those competitions.
Most people know about the Olympics, but they may not know about a similar, ancient event held every two years in the city of Corinth, Greece, and known as the Isthmian Games – so called because Corinth lay on an isthmus that connected the two major areas of Greece. This natural trade route prospered both from land and sea routes, as well as from the athletes and “tourists” who attended the games.
One of those visitors was a man named Paul of Tarsus, the great missionary and apostle of the early church, and author of thirteen books of the New Testament. After arriving in Corinth around 50 or 51 AD, he founded a Christian Church there, then lived there for about eighteen months. It seems that the Isthmian Games took place during his stay. It is also likely that Paul plied his trade of tent-making while he was there, providing tents for the out-of-towners who came to see the games. This seems to be the case, because when he later wrote to the Corinthians, he stressed four times that he had not been a burden to them (2 Corinthians 11 and 12), probably by supporting himself through his work.
Paul also drew on his observations of such athletic contests in several of his letters to the early churches, including Philippians 2:16, Galatians 2:2, Galatians 5:7, 2 Timothy 4:7, and 2 Timothy 2:5. But his longest comparison between athletics and living the Christian life was in his first letter to – who else? – the Corinthians. He told them,
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)
So, what can we learn from Paul’s observations of the Isthmian Games, that might come to mind even as we watch this year’s Olympics?
First, not everyone will be saved. In the Olympics, not everyone gets a gold medal, or even a bronze. At the awards ceremonies, most of the competitors have to watch from the bleachers while only the best get their medals. Now, Paul is not saying that only one person will receive the ultimate prize of eternal life through Christ, but rather that not everyone will be saved. We can see this truth around us today, in which many people reject Christ and belief in God. What Paul is encouraging here is that Christians persevere in the faith, no matter how difficult or long the struggle. He is saying not to give up, but to continually push on to the finish line. When Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith,” he was not saying that he was the only one to “win,” but that his finishing the race meant he kept the faith – which is an example to all believers. He made this point explicitly in 2 Timothy 4:8, “Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”
Second, the Christian life is one of self-control. We are “only human” as are all other people, and we are subject to the same desires, emotions, and temptations to sin as everyone else. But a Christian cannot use that as an excuse to give in to sinful impulses. We are called to be better than that. Where others curse, we bless or hold our tongue. Where others steal, we restore or give freely. Where others lust, we flee temptation and seek love instead. Just as an athlete strengthens his or her body by food choices and exercise, so a Christian chooses carefully what to take in (by eye or ear) and how to act. It is not a mistake that the Bible calls the followers of Christ, “disciples,” for our lives should exhibit the discipline and self-control which lift us above animal instincts to noble, God-honoring works.
Third, the rewards of the Christian life are far greater than what the world can offer. The ancient Greeks competed for a laurel wreath or crown. The modern athletes compete for medals (for which they must pay taxes!). Some few get great endorsement deals and their faces on the front of cereal boxes. But nothing awarded to athletes – or to people outstanding in other fields – can compare with what we receive through faith in Christ, which is joy and peace now, and eternal life to come. Paul told the Corinthians that all those wreaths they saw awarded to great athletes were perishable, but that their “wreaths” awarded to those who believe in Jesus Christ are imperishable (1 Corinthians 9:25). Having this long view of life helps us endure temporary difficulties, sicknesses, and loss in a way that the world cannot. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard believers tell me how grateful they were that their recently deceased family member was a believer; they always add, “I don’t know how anyone can deal with such a loss without Christ!” Sure, we aren’t happy to go through trials and losses, but we know how it all ends – with victory in Christ, and the inheritance of all the joys and treasures of heaven (1 Peter 1:4).
Fourth, the Christian life has purpose. Unlike the runner who runs aimlessly, or the boxer who just punches the air (1 Corinthians 9:26), the Christian lives a life of purpose centered in Jesus Christ. Like other people, we have to work, go to school, care for our family, and yes, even exercise. Those activities have short-term goals and purposes, but ultimately, we know that our lives have a God-given purpose to them. We are not here by accident. We are not just temporary blips in the circle of life on this planet. God created us to know and love him and each other. God designed us to honor and serve him. Even the works we do are God-ordained: Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Isn’t that amazing, that God created us with specific works in mind! If that doesn’t give us purpose in this life, what does? And knowing that God has an eternal purpose for creating us should inspire us to keep our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2).
Finally, don’t get disqualified. This may seem like a strange idea: since salvation is by grace alone, a gift from God, how can a Christian possibly be disqualified? And yet, Paul makes the point, that he must persevere in the faith lest he be disqualified (1 Corinthians 9:27). There are several ways that could happen, which by themselves could be the topic for another blog. For now, let me briefly state them. 1. Falling away from the faith. 2. Attributing your salvation to your own works and self-righteousness, rather than to God. 3. Blaspheming the Holy Spirit by denying Christ is God. And 4. Worshiping the Antichrist and the Beast. Notice that temporary doubts or moral failures don’t in themselves disqualify us; what does is a wholesale rejection of the grace which God freely offers in Christ. The book of Hebrews warns us that those who have once tasted salvation but fall away, cannot be restored (Hebrews 6:4-8). Just as athletes can finish an event in triumph, but lose their medals if they cheated, used enhancing drugs, or violated the rules of their event, so Christians are called to faith and obedience to God’s commandments. Though works do not save us, we cannot just throw out God’s laws. Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:5, “An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.” Let us follow the rules, even as we gratefully receive God’s forgiveness for our failures to keep them fully.
There’s probably more to say on this subject, and as a pastor, I’m eager to say it . . . but the next big Olympic event is coming on the TV, so I’ll wrap it up and grab a snack. I’ll begin my training for the next Olympics tomorrow.
Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make is face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. Amen.
Read: 1 Corinthians 9; 2 Timothy 2:22-26; Hebrews 6.