Strict Training for the Sochi Olympics

The opening ceremony of the Sochi Olympics will begin the 2014 Winter Olympics this Friday. The events over the next 17 days will determine who is best in their sport. USA will have 230 athletes competing – largest number ever for any country at the Winter Games. Todd Lodwich will be first American to compete in his sixth Winter Olympics in Nordic combined (cross country skiing & ski-jumping) – teammates Billy Demong and skier Bode Miller will be in their fifth.  Although, an injury from a  fall on January 10th may keep him from competing. The oldest US member is 45 yrs old curler Ann Swisshelm. Free-style skier, Maggie Voisin,  is the youngest US member at age 15. There are 27 athletes with ties to Minnesota are competing. All athletes have been strictly training for these games.

The Olympics will captivate us this month. The Olympics were a big deal during the time of the New Testament and they caught the attention of the Apostle Paul. He refers to athletes and competition in a few of his letters and, in one notable passage, mentions two of the sports that were part of the Olympic competition in his day - Running and Boxing.  Paul often compared our living the Christian life to the athletes who participated in the ancient Olympic Games.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

The ancient Olympic Games were the biggest events in the ancient world. Olympian Games began in 776BC and were held every four years. The games started in Olympia, Greece and only men that were free Greeks could compete. All athletes underwent ten months of strict training. They kept a strict diet and discipline of their body. The athletes would deny themselves certain things to gain a certain thing. No aimless running, no aimless boxing.

There is no room for aimlessness in Christian warfare. The enemy of our soul plays dirty and cheats. It is only those who are spiritually in strict training to master faith and put that faith into practice, which will finish the race and be given the reward of eternal life in God’s mercy at the end.

What are you contending for spiritually?
What strict training is needed?

---