Hope

As Christians, what is it that we have for the world? Hope. Hope for the future. Hope for healing. Hope for lives. One statement made by Chris Collinsworth last night after all the Olympic Games and ceremonies had concluded immediately brought my thoughts back to the thoughts I had after the opening ceremony. “If there’s one word that comes out of the Olympics for me it’s hope. I mean, for two weeks people from all over the world gather and they get along in a way that is just chilling almost in many ways, and you say if it could happen for two weeks, why not three, why not a month, why not longer…”

Our individual healing begins when we make a personal decision for Christ and we are unified in our relationship with Him. As our relationship strengthens our reflection is of the hope we have found. When individual Christians live lives founded on the message, the Body of Christ reflects unity in a grander way. Unity can only happen through relationship. Relationships require an interest in the other person and a putting aside of personal agenda. Hope is evident in unity. Chris noted the hope of something greater than personal agendas of individuals and nations. The taste of it left a yearning for more.

When will we realize we know the author of that hope? Our eyes are so occupied with personal agenda we have difficulty in maintaining our personal relationship with Christ. Saturday afternoon’s broadcasting took a moment to spotlight Eric Liddell’s story. I love his testimony. He understood that his gift of running was from God. He glorified God through it, but He held his relationship with God closer. His testimony of this was seen as he upheld the Sabbath. He would not run on Sunday, despite being a favorite to win it. (There’s always debate about whether Saturday or Sunday is the actual Sabbath, but the technicality of the issue is not what is important.) As a Christian I realize that the greatness of His story is not that he held something more important than his running, but that because of His relationship with God he respected the source of his gift more than the gift. He realized the greater hope and lived for it.

Diving for Bronze

Best finish of this year’s Olympic Games?

Am I referring to one of the relays in the pool or the fingertip win by Phelps? The action would have made more sense in water. It wasn’t even for gold. It was to grab the bronze. Of course, I am talking about the amazing dive David Neville took across the finish line in the men’s 400-meter final. My cousin and I could not stop laughing. When the commentators mentioned he was hurt we were laughing all the harder, not because he was hurt (what kind of sick person do you think I am?). It just seemed like an obvious factor when a full speed Olympic runner dives into a track. I have been in pain after making a trained dive into a softball base, I can’t imagine considering a forward facing dive into a running track. I was wondering if this was something that he had foreseen as a consideration or if the idea just hit him in the moment. I found out after the race that he has actually done it once before in a race last year to secure a silver for USA. After the race he said, "Sometimes we have to sacrifice our body and our mind and our spirit for what we really want." All I know is he wanted that bronze and he did not leave without it. His action also completed a sweep by USA in the race's medals.

...with several amazing finishes in this year's games this one may not top, but it was definitely exciting to see.

Congratulations Michael Phelps

Relief…the outcome of no more what if scenarios. The chase for eight is complete. This year’s events all began on 08.08.08 and now Michael Phelps is eight for eight. It was a remarkable race by Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, Michael Phelps, and Jason Lezak. China’s Water Cube didn’t have an empty seat. You know something special is happening when Kobe and LeBron are among the spectators. It’s more than national pride or interest in a particular sport. It’s a moment shared by human spectators of all backgrounds around the world; a moment to pause and cheer for a fellow human being as greatness is realized in capturing a life’s dream through dedication. What a journey! And, just because I have been posting the medal status throughout my postings I conclude by saying, “Zero to go!”

Too Close

A win by 1/100 of a second! I thought it was over and I think it's completely unexplainable how he got his hand up there first. I have to admit I completely wrote it all off in that last stroke. As the clips play over in slow motion and from different views I can't believe it. How? How? How? Thank God for the touchpad that reads the time of touch and proves his victory because the visual shot still leaves my mind's eye with doubts. Even with the technolgy I was nervous as a protest of the win surfaced. I'm glad the protest verdict was finalized quickly and in favor of the original claim to victory. The close win seized by Lezak earlier this week was exciting; this close call was stomach turning.

Michael Phelps has officially tied Mark Spitz in earning seven gold medals in a single Olympic season. Yesterday he received his sixth and after this race he has one more to go to hold more gold than any other in a season. I have believed fromed the beginning he had the capability to reach his goal, but I have never written off the competition. Anything can happen in a moment. Any upset is possible. Just one to go! How unreal!

How amazing was Dara Torres and her sportsmanship to put aside her focus to ask officials to hold the race for her competitor during some swimsuit trouble. I love her drive but more than that I love her spirit. She is an inspiration. Even after the distraction she was able to pull off an incredible win.

Four and...FIVE

What a day for Michael Phelps! It is official; Michael has more gold medals than any other! Ten would have done it, but he now holds eleven. After his accomplishment he led another relay giving an untouchable lead to the U.S. team. His chase in reaching eight gold medals this year is now within grasp. Just three to go! It’s amazing to watch history being written. If you aren’t watching you are missing an incredible thing.

The only frustration of the day was his goggles filling with water in the 200m butterfly making the finish closer than he would have liked and the time a little longer than hoped for. But, the 4x200m freestyle relay was completed under 7 minutes at 6:58.56. And so, the frustrating moment was paled in retrospect. The day’s events came and went in true Phelps’ fashion: record breaking, a new record in medals and two more time records turned in.

“The people who came before us and competed in the Olympic Games are some of the greatest athletes who ever lived, and to be or to win the most gold medals is unbelievable.” -Michael Phelps

Gold Again for Phelps

At the risk of repeating myself, another gold and another world record seized. He swam the 200m freestyle in just 1:42.96. This gold brings Phelps' Olympic career total to 9! He has matched the holders of the most Olympic gold medals. Of course, the challenge remains to surpass these holders and also take home 8 in this year's Olympic events. Five more to gain! The Americans definitely owned the pool tonight!

Absolutely Astonished

"Smash the Americans?" So, the US was not the favorite to win tonight and the French dared to bring trash talk. The talk was nothing more than a push of inspiration for the US team. The Olympics aren't about talk they are about action and the US team brought it. The previous world record was absolutely demolished! It may have very well been the best relay in Olympic history. So excited right now! Gold #2 for Michael Phelps! Six more to go BABY! Thank you Jason Lezak for bringing the fastest final sprint ever to pull it off (46 flat) and congratulations to you! It was beautiful!

Athlete to Watch

Today pretty much revolved around the Olympics for my cousins and me. I am glad that the time of most of the swimming events places them prime time here. I was so excited to see Michael Phelps attain gold already. Seven more to go! Even better was the fact that he crushed another world record in attaining it! It's just too bad the country that put on such a spectacular presentation for the world yesterday happened to have a technical glitch in the middle of our national anthem. It would have been nice to hear the whole song. Anyway, I'm eager to see how the rest of Phelps' events unfold!

Dara Torres also had a great swim and is deserving of props although the USA team did not pull a win in that race. To be in the Olympics at age 41 and still prove to be one of the strongest competitors in the race is amazing.

One

If you didn’t see last night’s opening ceremony to the Olympics you really missed a well orchestrated phenomenon. All controversies of this year’s events aside, it was a stunning vision from start to finish. Everything was executed with great precision and attention to detail. The most inspiring part was the unified imagery produced by more than 15,000 synchronized individuals. Several times the words of the commentators were brought back to the producer who envisioned this masterpiece and the awe of how it was being manifested in that moment.

The message China is bringing to this year’s games,
One world. One goal.

As a Christian my mind was carried to God’s plan for the body of Christ,
One body. One message.

I have actually been thinking about the importance of God’s beautiful concept of one body for awhile now. Various readings and experiences have provoked my thinking. In a way greater than how last night’s performance captured the attention of people all over this world, a unified body of Christ would captivate our dying world. No individual in last night’s performance was repeated. A few had roles that brought more personal attention than others, but each role was significant to the full picture. It was a reminder to me of the Christian’s responsibility to live out their role, the will of God for their life. It’s not about a jealous spirit of those who appear to be more visible than us. There is a purpose to our life and the picture is so much greater than any one of us. Just as last night’s performers only had a single moment before the audience of the world, we have only one life. It is brief and it’s our one chance to live it for God. When our focus turns away from self glorification to the greater message our lives take on a meaning so much larger than our human perspectives can comprehend. We will see the picture one day in its full glory. For now we need to follow our Producer, our Creator in portraying the vision He has for mankind. It’s bigger than us, but there is a role for us.

You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you're still one body. It's exactly the same with Christ. By means of his one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything. (This is what we proclaimed in word and action when we were baptized.) Each of us is now a part of his resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain—his Spirit—where we all come to drink. The old labels we once used to identify ourselves—labels like Jew or Greek, slave or free—are no longer useful. We need something larger, more comprehensive.

I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less. A body isn't just a single part blown up into something huge. It's all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together. If Foot said, "I'm not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings; I guess I don't belong to this body," would that make it so? If Ear said, "I'm not beautiful like Eye, limpid and expressive; I don't deserve a place on the head," would you want to remove it from the body? If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell? As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it.

But I also want you to think about how this keeps your significance from getting blown up into self-importance. For no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are a part of. An enormous eye or a gigantic hand wouldn't be a body, but a monster. What we have is one body with many parts, each its proper size and in its proper place. No part is important on its own. Can you imagine Eye telling Hand, "Get lost; I don't need you"? Or, Head telling Foot, "You're fired; your job has been phased out"? As a matter of fact, in practice it works the other way—the "lower" the part, the more basic, and therefore necessary. You can live without an eye, for instance, but not without a stomach. When it's a part of your own body you are concerned with, it makes no difference whether the part is visible or clothed, higher or lower. You give it dignity and honor just as it is, without comparisons. If anything, you have more concern for the lower parts than the higher. If you had to choose, wouldn't you prefer good digestion to full-bodied hair?

The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don't, the parts we see and the parts we don't. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.

You are Christ's body—that's who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your "part" mean anything. You're familiar with some of the parts that God has formed in his church, which is his "body":

I Corinthians 12:12-27 (The Message)

Thought

Just a thought from a greatly researched book:

“We must stop presenting ourselves as the message and begin presenting Jesus as the message.” –David Kinnaman

Hard At Work

My cousin and his entire church staff have gone out of town for a conference, so today I have undertaken the colossal responsibility of assuming the role of an entire church staff in one. A role that only my three years of church/school staff experience could qualify me for. Ok, so maybe I’m sitting here doing absolutely nothing and have nothing more to occupy my time than write a new post. A post that I’m sure will be so stimulating that it will be read by countless numbers across the world. I completed my responsibilities, aka: busy work, at approximately 11:00 am.

My core task today was to fold the bulletins. They have a machine to do the actual folding. All I was required to do was feed the machine, manually of course and in numbers of less than 15 so not to jam it. I believe the contraption was built shortly after God created the earth. I was impressed that I had only one bulletin casualty through my efforts.

Small offices always have devices that entertain me. These devices would never be found in modern fast-paced offices, but just as God uses the least of mankind to do His work, the least of technology finds life and purpose in small church offices and non-profit organizations. I actually think I find these things more intriguing than the latest hi-tech inventions that I use everyday. So to all of you working in fast-paced offices with your fancy gadgets, be jealous. Be very jealous.