Qualify
The Olympics are in full swing at last! It’s great seeing so many competing, but I do find it a bit weird seeing ‘Tokyo 2020’ on display in the deserted stadiums! The images are powerful reminders of how Covid has changed the world.
Gold medallist diver Tom Daley told the BBC in 2005 ‘I want to get to the Olympics and win a gold medal.’ He was just 11 when he stated that mission!
Our athletes have done so much, putting in hours of training, over many years to be the best and to qualify for Team GB.
This is so different to how God works! Look at this bit in the Bible, part of a letter to the Christians in a city called Corinth, written by Paul around 96AD...
“Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don’t see many of “the brightest and the best” among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn’t it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these “nobodies” to expose the hollow pretensions of the “somebodies”?”
In this letter, Paul says that becoming a Christian has nothing to do with how good you are, or how much money or qualifications you have.
In fact, it does not depend on anything in a human, but is only possible by the kindness, goodness and grace of God!
Unlike those Olympic athletes, who must work extremely hard to prove themselves for Team GB, being accepted by God is not down to us! How refreshing is that!
So be encouraged, the God of all hope wants you for His team.
God bless
Gary Bastin - Hope Community Church leader