My wife and I have really enjoyed watching the Olympics the past two weeks. We try to catch some events in the evenings after the kids are in bed, especially our favorites like swimming, gymnastics, track & field and of course badminton (NOT!!). There have been some truly amazing feats like Michael Phelps winning 8 gold medals, the U.S. women’s gymnasts asserting their dominance even against their underage Chinese counterparts, numerous world records, etc. It has all been very exciting to watch and almost addicting. The skill, fame, glory, adoration, coming lucrative endorsements and on and on.
This got me thinking, “Does it all really matter?” Sure, it will no doubt change the lives of the individual athletes and will give the rest of us something to talk about at the office and reminisce about in years to come. But does it have any real significance in their or our lives.
I can just imagine the victorious athlete coming home after a great Olympic performance and being on the most amazing high of his life, having been acclaimed as one of the world’s greatest athletes and receiving all sorts of notoriety and media attention. After all of the excitement is over and in the quietness of his thoughts, he walks into his bedroom and puts his medals on the dresser, not being sure of where they should go. He sits down on the bed and in the silence thinks, “The emptiness is still there. I thought winning an Olympic medal would change everything and make it go away, but it didn’t. Now what do I do?”
We as Christians know the answer. Jesus Christ is the only one that can take the emptiness away and fill your life with joy. All of the things we do or accomplish on this earth are only temporary and cannot provide true fulfillment as God intended. This can be a good reminder for us to focus on things of eternal significance like maturing in our faith, telling others the Good News to advance Christ’s kingdom and serving others. That is not to say that we should not try to use our God given talents to achieve great things for Christ here on earth. We just need to keep it all in perspective; an eternal one.
Matthew 6:20 - But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Until next time,
The Counselor
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1 comment:
Thanks Joe. A encouraging word for all of us. No matter what our occupation, it is important to not put our self worth is that, but to put it in the hands of Christ.
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