Carrying the Flag

I generally save my sport-watching time for play-offs or championship games.  Why bother with run of the mill regular season games where the stakes are relatively low and players have less motivation?   I want to see athletes playing their hardest, taking the biggest risks, reaping the greatest rewards.  Perhaps, that's why I love the Summer Olympics so much.  Once every four years, the athletes that have sacrificed the most, disciplined themselves the hardest, and dedicated themselves the most fully to their sport get to compete--not against the best athletes in their region or even their  country--but the best athletes in the world.

The Olympics bring vivid life to many of the sports metaphors that the New Testament is replete with (grab your concordance and do a study on "running," "race," "wrestling," or "winning a crown" for example).  This year, as I watched the opening ceremonies, I became aware of another metaphor.  In the Parade of Nations, athletes (or "delegates" as they are referred to in the opening ceremony) stream into the stadium behind the flag of their nation, wearing their national colors, or traditional cultural clothing.  Some of the delegates are stoic and somber.  Some are dumbstruck with awe, as it sinks in, for the first time, how many people are watching them.  Some cannot contain their joy and sense of national pride and weep even while they laugh. 

I watched with pride as the U.S. team strolled down the track, a massive crowd of more than 500 athletes dressed in matching suits and berets.  But what really stuck with me was the number of countries where only a handful of delegates--occasionally only one delegate represented his or her nation.  I remember one lone man, from some tiny island nation that has escaped my memory beaming proudly as he bore the flag of his country before the world.  He was all alone.  No one knew his name.  He won't return with a medal (or probably even qualify to compete for a medal) but he knew that he alone was representing his nation to a watching world, and he took that responsibility seriously.

How often do I stop to think that Christ has chosen me as a delegate to the world.  I represent the kingdom of God to the entire world that is watching as I carry the flag of Christ.  Do I take that responsibility with the humility, seriousness, and joy that it demands?  I praise the Lord that I am not the only delegate of that far country, but what if I was?  What would people think of the kingdom I represent, and the King I love.  I think of countless passages that encourage and challenge us with the role of being a flag bearer of Christ's kingdom:

-"We are therefore Christ's ambassadors . . ." 2 Corinthians 5:20

-"Thanks be to God who leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him."  2 Corinthians 2:14

-"[Be] children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life."  Philippians 2:14-15

-"Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."  Matthew 5:16

May you bear the flag with joy and honor!