The Wilkes Team

Imagine for a moment that you are standing on-top a simple tri-level stage at the center of a large stadium. A cheering crowd can be heard. There you stand, resolutely with eyes fixed upon one thing…….the gold medal you are about to receive. The Olympic medal is placed around your neck at which time the national anthem begins to play.

While the exact origin is not known exactly, records from the year 776 B.C. give account of what may of been the first Olympic game. From this point on, they were held every 4 years until 394 A.D. when Theodosius abolished the games after Greece had lost its independence. At the beginning, the games consisted simply of a race the length of the stadium. As years went by, more competitions were added to include chariot racing, the javelin throw, the broad jump, boxing, wrestling, etc. Constricted only to Greeks, competitors from all the Greek colonies in the Mediterranean descended upon Greece once every four years.

Through the efforts of Baron Pierre de Coubertin (1863-1937), the games were revived and expanded in 1894. They have continued ever since being hosted by countries all around the world. The 2010 Olympics will be held in Canada.

This past week, our family had the joy of vacationing in Lake Placid, New York, the sight of both the 1932 & 1980 winter Olympics. The whole area abounds in Olympic history. At the present, the old Olympic buildings and competition sites are used for training future U.S. Olympic contestants. Athletes from all across the U.S. will converge upon Lake Placid where they are trained in sports ranging from ice skating to hockey to ski jumping, the biathlon, down hill skiing, bobsledding, the luge, and more.

While walking around the sites and structures, many thoughts came to mind. Lake Placid is an inspiring place to the athlete as it sets the standard for physical achievement. Throughout the area, we saw many rising athletes in practice. The concentration, dedication, and discipline of Olympic athletes is remarkable. They willingly sacrifice physical pleasures in order to achieve great honor and reward.

What an inspiration to the Christian athlete. Without a doubt, we are in the greatest race of all time for a reward far exceeding the metal and honors of the Olympic champion. Paul recognized this and so said, “…I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway (1Cor. 9:27).” What is our reward? An incorruptible (1Cor. 9:25) crown of righteousness (1Tim. 4:8), a crown of life (Jas 1:12), a crown of glory (1Pet. 5:4), a crown of life (Rev. 2:10), and the words of our Lord, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant…(Matt. 25:21).”

Over the next year, hours upon hours of time will be spent in preparation for the 2010 Olympics at which time thousands of contestants from around the world will compete for Gold, Silver, & Bronze Medals.

How much time in 2009 do we plan on spending in pursuit of incorruptible rewards whose glory fadeth not away? Let us join with Paul in pressing, “… toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:14).”

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us (Heb. 12:1).

This entry was posted on Monday, January 12th, 2009 at 12:43 pm and is filed under Family News, HIS-story. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.