Thinking again about the Olympics, because that is the obvious happening in China at the moment, a comment from Michael Phelps, the American swimmer, came to mind. When asked why he set a goal to gain eight gold medals at this Olympics, his response seemed rather simple.
He responded that he needed a goal. When training that much, it gets really old really fast. He said he could just remember his goal and then he would realize that the only way to really try for that goal was to keep going, keep pushing, keep training, and work through the monotony to what we now know as one of the most amazing Olympics ever for swimming.
There are Dong Christians. They are the athletes in this analogy. The problem is they are not striving for anything. They have no goal. They have no motivation to grow. They are stuck in a spiritual rut...most of them anyway.
Let us pray that they will be reinvigorated. Let us pray that they will see the absolutely glorious goal we all have before us: life with Christ gained through his wonderful grace. When they see how pitiful we humans are and how wonderful are the promises to which we cling, may the Lord give them a huge boost of encouragement in their loving Father and gracious Lord.