Apologies to those who didn’t enjoy them- but I loved the Olympics. I am just back to work after two and a half weeks of holiday- and it would be fair to say that the time was dominated by the events in London. Along with my parents I spent a couple of days in the Olympic Park itself watching hockey (played at amazing pace) and handball (utterly mad but quite gripping). The rest of the days were spent trying to decide which of the BBC’s 24 streams to watch. I have particularly fond memories of watching clay pigeon shooting on the TV whilst keeping an eye on canoeing on my laptop as Great Britain won gold medals in both events almost simultaneously…

It is important that we see such events through Christian eyes- the whole world belongs to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Over the 17 days I had a variety of reflections from a biblical perspective. I am intending to write five of them over the next week or so. In no sense at all are they systematic- they are simply what occurred to me (both positively and negatively) as I watched. And for those who are bored by the Olympics- well I promise to write about something else next week…

My first reflection comes from the fact that these Olympics were hugely enjoyable. The television and radio coverage has stressed that the Olympic Park was a tremendously happy place. My own experience confirmed this- the volunteers that I saw were unfailingly cheerful and helpful, the park itself looked magnificent and the atmosphere in front of the big screens and at the venues was exhilarating. I can’t remember enjoying a day at a sporting or cultural event more. I found the events on television to be tremendous- the enjoyable Opening Ceremony, cheering Chris Hoy’s sixth gold medal in front of a big screen in Manchester and the wonderful success of British athletes on the middle Saturday will be memories that I treasure. I will write a bit more critically in subsequent posts- but for now, I want to say that it was fantastic!

That leads to a couple of reflections. The first is one of great thanksgiving to God. Prior to the main event, in order to get me in the Olympic mood, I watched for the umpteenth time the film Chariots of Fire. The line used by Eric Liddle is so helpful- “He made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure.” The feats performed by athletes bear testimony to the glory of the God who made them. The fact that people want to enjoy these things together points to a God who created us in His own relational image. The joy that people have shared over the last weeks points to a God who gives us good things. Over the last few months I’ve been really struck by the apostle Paul’s sermon in Lystra in Acts 14. He ends it by describing God as the one who fills our hearts with joy. So often we assume that human difficulty and sadness is the only door for pointing to the Gospel. But the joy of an Olympic Games should call us to point to its origin in a creator God who gives abilities to human beings and gives us wonderful things to enjoy. So as the flame was extinguished on Sunday I thanked God for the joy of the last two weeks.

There was also sadness at the Closing Ceremony as well. Given that the last Olympic Games in London were 64 years ago and given that I am 35 years of age it is probably fair to say that this was a once in a lifetime experience for me. I am sure that I will watch the Olympics on television in four years time but it won’t quite be the same. And yet as Christians we look forward to a new creation. Not to floating around in some spiritual heaven but to a solid reality- a perfected and more glorious version of God’s first creation. It is one of the reasons why Christians don’t need to be desperate to see everywhere in this creation before they die. A quote from the early church leader Augustine came to mind:

“Think of the intimate wonders of the human body, even the quite gratuitous ornament of a male beard (I love that!)…the extraordinary brilliance and surface effects of the light itself in sun, moon and stars, in the dark shades of a glade, in the colours and scents of flowers, in the sheer diversity and abundance of chirruping, painted birds…There is the grandeur of the spectacle of the sea itself…And all those are mere consolations for us, for us unhappy, punished men: they are not the rewards of the blessed. What can these be like then if such things here are so many, so great and of such quality.”

If the Olympics show off the greatness of God’s creation then how much more marvellous will be the events of the new creation. For the Christian nothing is really a once in a lifetime experience. And the great thing in the new creation is that the glory will go where it belongs- a point I will pick up on in my next post…