About Christianity

the olympics. i have been watching it as faithfully as i could ever since the games started. of course, if i need to go to school, then i cannot watch it. it is a big disappointment to know that i will miss out some of my favorite events, like track, gymnastic (which is already over) and swimming. i could not skip school though. technically i can, but...

after the finals the camera always zoom in to the top 3 winners of each event. as we can see, they are usually smiling widely as they hold on to their medals, unless they messed up somewhere and got a lower position when they could go higher. but still, usually, it is all smiles. little is shown about the losers. well, practically nothing is shown about them. no, i am not going to talk about them today.

as i see the smiles and the grins of the winnners, i could not help but smile with them. it is like a contagious disease, only that this disease is a good one. hahax. maybe because i used to be a sports person taking part in competitions, that's why i could understand a little about their joy. i used to be a cross-country runner (i have quit now though), putting in a lot of effort only for that single race. the moment you get the prize, you felt as though everything is worth it. of course, my medal is not as great as theirs. but it is enough to let me know part of their joy. maybe you too could feel their joy.

the olympics. it really is a wonderful game. although not perfect, sports do unite the world to some extent. this sentence is random and has no relation to my post today.

moral of the story? in every race there are winners and losers. winners smile and losers walk off disappointed and unnoticed. in the christian faith, we are running a race too. i am not going to say the cliche of it does not matter if you come in first, what matters is that you finish. no. i am anti-cliche!

our race is a bit different as in it does not matter how fast you run. (oh noes! cliche!)

our race requires us to run, no matter how slow. we can run slow. but we cannot stop. and we cannot walk. we have to run, even if the running looks like it will take forever. because running means we still have the passion and the drive. if we walk, soon we might give up. or we might side-track. keep on running. sometimes it is tiring. sometimes we need to ask God to refresh us. (correct me if this paragraph of mine contradicts the Bible. thanks.)

i once reada story that goes roughly like this. there was this man who took part in a long distance race. but he was slow. and he was last. even though everyone finished the race, and finished giving the medals, and the spectators went off, this man continued to run. he ran, without anyone noticing, knowing he could not win. a person went to him afterwards, and asked him why he continued to run. he replied, 'i took part in this race. it does not matter if i did not win. but if i am in the race, i have to finish it.'

we are in this race. we have to finish. because if we finish, we win. (another cliche!)

compared to the olympics, the prize we will get is much more valuable. compared to the olympics, the cost of not completing the race is unimaginable. not everyone can have a chance to win a medal in the olympics. but everyone has an equal chance of winning the prize that is a place in heaven. i want to win. i think i run slow. but i am still running. are you? i hope you will not stop. no matter how slow, keep running.

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i was in a not so happy mood today. and then i saw one scene that made me smile. i was on the bus, and this person, a lady of around my age, with earphones jammed into her ear and listening to her songs, wore a t-shirt which says, 'I am listening to bands that don't exist yet.'