"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day." 2 Corinthians 4:16
I am officially an Olympic junkie.
I find myself watching things I would never otherwise watch - syncronized swimming (the sport where all the girls look like they are from an '80's Robert Palmer video), fencing (seriously.......stabbing people for medals), and equestrian (which I still don't watch - it is just a bigger version of a dog show for me, but I realize that it takes talent to do all that manuevering). I have had a long week or two as it is, and I just compound my tiredness by staying up to watch all these late night Olympic moments (I wish the whole world was on Eastern Standard Time - though I guess it would be weird for people in Beijing to eat lunch in the dead of night).
One of the things that interests me is to see the Olympians who have competed at multiple Olympics. When they show video of them from the last Olympics, or even from two Olympics removed, you can see the changes that have occurred to their bodies. Have you seen Dara Torres?!? Even looking at Michael Phelps from last Olympics to this one, you can see how much stronger and more fit he has become. The body is meant for progress when it is worked effectively by an athlete.
The tough thing, though, is the reminder at the Olympics of those heroes we saw progress physically over the years, but now a whole lot of years have gone by and they look more like me and you. Seeing Mark Spitz or Karch Kiraly or Mary Lou Retton (all of whom still look great by the way) is a reminder that we are all aging. The body is meant for a time to progress, but once it has crested that hill then the body begins a track of deterioration (for some it is faster than others).
Spiritually, we are made to progress - just like we are physically. But the beauty is that there is no hill to crest so that our spirituality becomes all downhill after that. We are not made to deteriorate spiritually. Paul the apostle reminds us that all of our bodies will outwardly waste away. Either through disease, or natural aging, or possibly through some type of trauma (Paul's trauma was a result of persecution that resulted in beatings, shipwrecks, scorpion stings, and various other calamaties), all of our bodies will decay or break down.
But our hearts don't have to. We can be continually renewed inwardly all the days of our lives. We can live in a strength that doesn't come from protein shakes or power yoga. We can live in the strength of the resurrection of Jesus.
So keep that in mind when you see the gray this morning in the mirror (or the crow's feet around the eyes, or the extra layer of warmth around the abdomen, or the joints that creek and crack when you get out of bed). You can be strong - renewed - in a place that no disease or arthritis or muscle spasm can affect.
