A Message from the Olympics

A fellow prayer warrior shared this for the journal:

Not that the Olympics are bad or anything. I love the Olympics. It is just that I was thinking about what possible eternal message could be received from watching the Olympics. Tens of thousands of Dong people will be watching the Olympics, and my hope is that this could be some great opportunity, but I just do not know what they could hear.

One of the main themes of the Olympics is peace and harmony. During the Opening Ceremonies, the most prominent Chinese character was that for "harmony". That ideal is somehow tainted, though, with an ongoing crisis in Sudan, the dictator from Mozambique not allowed into China for his recent abuses of power and democracy, and a border dispute between Russia and Georgia erupting right as the games begin.

I do not want to talk politics and, though it is interesting, neither do I want to talk about the games themselves. I was just praying through this great opportunity in China and for the Dong.

I keep thinking about the difference between "world peace" as we speak of it and true peace, which is only found through Christ. Even creation itself is longing to be released from the bondage of sin and made right with Christ again.
It is hard to know how to pray. How could the Dong ever begin to think of such things just from watching the Olympics? Of course, God can do anything, so just because we cannot figure out the answer is not a reason to stop praying. I will be praying that hearing of the conflicts in the world during the Olympics will make them wonder, "Where is true peace found?". I will be praying that God will place a longing in their heart for the harmony of heaven.
That is how I am praying, but you never know how the Lord will work. May the values of the human-made Olympics make us think of the true completion of those values in Christ.