Ensign: Past The Olympic Truce, 2014 Edition

All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye. Isaiah 18:3

AN ENSIGN ON THE MOUNTAINS 7 February 2014

Welcome to the Winter Olympics! Yes, for the next two weeks athletes and observers from all over our planet will converge on Sochi, Russia -- on the northeast corner of the Black Sea, coming close to that country's border with Georgia (the country, not the US state! There's a story here, but I digress.) -- and for only the second time in its history, Russia will be privileged to host a Games. The first time was in 1980, with a Summer Olympics in Moscow (back when Russia and Georgia were both part of the Soviet Union, but again I digress) which we may not remember so much because the United States boycotted that Games over that country's invasion of Afghanistan. And we're still dealing with the fallout of that ...

Anyway, in the world of ancient Greece where the Olympics originated, the Olympic Games were held every four years. During the two weeks they were held, as well as just before and after the games, all Greek city-states declared a truce with one another, a "cooling off" period during which no battles could take place. After the Games, of course, the warring Greeks were free to take up arms once more. But in the ancient Western world, the Olympic ideal of physical and mental fitness displayed the best their world could offer for more than a thousand years. (If you must get technical, from 776 BC to AD 395.)

The organizers of our modern Olympics (AD 1896 to the present) call on the nations of the world to observe a two-week ceasefire. Since neither our worldview nor our population is confined to the Peloponessus now, it's far less likely that we'll see this. Particularly in light of modern terrorism, the Olympic Truce seems unrealistic. But what is the underlying cause for terrorism and for war, not only between nations but also within families? The books written about the first two would fill the room you're reading this in, but many of them neglect the separation from God, the sin, in our lives. When we're separate from God, we become separated from each other as well because we share no common purpose; we are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26), but that doesn't affect us.

"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23 is pretty specific; all of us have the sin that keeps us from God by its existence. John 3:16, "that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life," offers all of us through Jesus new fellowship with God, the glory of God in our lives. The potential is there for all of us, but we can't earn it, we can't buy it, and it's not owed to us. It's a gift, but like any gift, it will collect dust on the shelf if we don't use it.

In his second letter to Timothy (and, scholars suppose, his last letter before he died), Paul says in chapter 4, verses 7 and 8, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give . . . not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." Paul compares his own growth in the Christian faith to winning a prize in a race twice more, in 1 Corinthians 9:24 and Ephesians 3:14. Until we die or until we are raptured, we have to grow and become more like Jesus Christ Himself in what we do and say and think. The forgiveness we can receive from Him when we ask is far more than a truce.

Sincerely yours,

David

P.S. I write this weekly devotional to keep in touch with all of you in my address book, and I hope to be an encourager to action too! If you find that I'm not or you want me to get lost, just let me know -- thank you!

Thank You, Lord, that we can come to you in prayer and that You provide for all our needs, even when we don't know what they are. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem on both sides of the fence there and around the world.

Thank You, Lord, for everyone in leadership and service, both here and abroad. Thank You for the opportunities we have and the promise of new life through You. I pray that we all seek and have a blessed week! Amen.