On monday, August 6th, Kirani James won the first Olympic medal in his countries history. Grenada, a small, island country in the the southeastern Caribbean seas, with a population barely over 100,000 people has competed in the summer Olympics 7 times without ever medaling. Yet all that changed as their 19-year-old track phenom rounded the track for his gold medal in the 400 meter sprint.
Although the finesse and ease with which the young man was impressively dominant, it was the response of the Grenadians to their victorious athlete that caught my attention. Following James' victory, the Olympic news reporters cut to the Grenadian camp, where the Grenadians had already begun the party. The whole Grenadian crowd was jumping and hollering in utter exuberance at their athletes' triumphant win. In essence, James had won for the whole country and the people could not contain their joy.
As I was watching the unabashed, unrestrained excitement, I had conflicting and complicated thoughts that began to fill my mind. While the Grenadians were exhibiting a truly pure joy, it astonished me that the sight seemed so foreign. The question stuck with me: Why aren't Christians this excited? Why don't Christians shout for joy at the work of Christ?
Although this may seem like gibberish musings, there is some validity in the reality of such thoughts. Jesus is the source, the true source, of joy. He sacrificed His very flesh and won the ultimate prize, saving all humanity from its sins and securing eternal life to all those who would come to Him in faith. Because of this, we, as Christians, should live as if our only athlete has won the ultimate prize on our behalf. Let us then cast aside our reserve and shout with excitement and joy at what Jesus has doen for us!
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