Read Time: 4 min 37 sec | Reading Level: 7th Grade

OLYMPICS

Going for Gold

The 2024 Summer Olympics started last Friday in Paris, France. 

For 16 days, athletes from 206 countries or territories will compete in over 40 sports.  The Olympics happen every two years, alternating between summer and winter sports; each time, a different country hosts.

Every Olympics kicks off with a big event called the Opening Ceremony. This is when all of the countries’ athletes arrive, and the host country will show parts of its culture.

Just hours before this year's Opening Ceremony, people set fires in Paris’s trains, disrupting travel. During the ceremony, artists, including Lady Gaga, performed.  All of the athletes took boats down Paris’s Seine River toward the sparkling Eiffel Tower. Unfortunately, it was raining the whole time!

Some viewers said portions of the Opening Ceremony promoted promiscuity and mocked the Last Supper. People were upset. The group in charge apologized and said it “was never an intention to show disrespect.”

Right now, the U.S. has over 30 medals total—more than any other country (see the live count). Lots of records have been set, and some really fun moments have happened.

The U.S. women’s rugby sevens team won America’s first Olympic rugby medal ever with its bronze win. The men’s gymnastics team won its first medal in 16 years (bronze). The women’s gymnastics team won gold, and Simone Biles now has the most Olympic medals of any U.S. gymnast ever!

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CHRISTIAN RESPONSE
The Olympics offer an opportunity to experience camaraderie with fellow fans and to enjoy the thrill of watching athletes do what God created them to do. As you watch athletes compete over the next two weeks, thank God that He also made you to do beautiful things, and pray that you’d bring Him glory in all you do. 

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.” 
Ephesians 2:10 (CSB) (read full passage)

How can I model loving an enemy when discussing this story?
As Christians, we cannot expect the world to hold or promote our values. In fact, we should expect the opposite.

The opening ceremonies were criticized by some for promoting promiscuity and mocking the Last Supper (though some disagreed). Whether at the Olympics, in TV shows, or elsewhere, Christians should be grieved by public celebrations of sin and mockery of Christ, but we should not feel threatened or respond in anger.

Jesus told us to expect this and how to respond; “Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” (Luke 6:28)

What response to this story do I want to model for my children?
Joyously celebrating these athletes while marveling at God’s ingenuity and greatness.

As we watch incredible athletes accomplish amazing things, it should naturally lead us to glorify God. He knows each one of these athletes, designed the bodies capable of such feats, created the creative minds that invented each sport, and existed long before these countries began. 

Every impressive thing should point us back to God and lead us to praise.

• Talk as a family about ways you can use your life to reflect Christ to others, whether that be through God-given talents, hard work, or responses to tough situations.

• Memorize Ephesians 2:10 as a family, focusing on the exhilarating purpose we have in Christ: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.”

• Pray for people using the Olympics as a guide… pray for the organizers, for the viewers, for the countries, for the athletes and their families—that all would come to know and love the Lord and that their lives would be impacted by God’s transformative love.

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