Just A Minute: Going for gold

The original Olympics were held in the summer by the Ancient Greeks as a way of uniting the colonies of Athens, Sparta and Thebes and as an act of devotion to Zeus, the king of the gods, whose sanctuary was in Olympia. In the Bible, the apostle Paul drew on athletic imagery when he wrote, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). So the follower of Jesus must endure bruising, and persevere through pain barriers, but remain committed to the gospel of the King of kings who came from the highest heaven to give us an eternal prize we could never win – his saving love.

Jonathan Frais (Rector of St Mark’s Church)