During August the athletes of the world went to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. It was that gathering every 4 years we call the Olympics. There is pomp, friendship, conflict, crime, joy, victory, defeat and every type of situation you might imagine when there is a gathering of this size.
This worldwide gathering began smaller in the 8th century BC and continued in that form till the 4th century AD. The modern version of the Olympics started in 1894. During the time of the modern Olympics there has been corruption, boycotts, entire nations banned from the games, and some pretty moving moments like Jesse Owens standing on the podium with a gold medal in front of Hitler's superior race of people. It is ironic that Jesse Owens was a victor in the Olympic games but returned to a nation that restricted many "rights" because of his skin color.
You can see that the Olympics have undergone changes and the ebb and flow of time. But God hasn't changed.
Each time I watched an Olympic broadcast it was reassuring and beautiful to see the statue of Christ the Redeemer. It is a 100' tall sculpture of Jesus that has stood since 1931. As each broadcast started the aerial camera panned over the harbor of Rio and over the statue. It is almost like Jesus is watching and reflecting on the good and bad things going on below.
One of our gymnasts, Simone Biles, was being interviewed and was asked, "Now that your competition is over, what will you be doing in Rio?" She answered, "I've got to see Christ the Redeemer!" She is a Roman Catholic, holds a Belizean citizenship through her mother and refers to Belize as her second home. I was thinking ... if she has met Ed and Arita Limas, I'll bet she has already been introduced to Christ the Redeemer, the God who has been the same before that first Olympiad and remains the same today.
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