Are the Paralympics fair?

Paralympic runner Oscar Pistorius caused controversy by questioning the blades used by his Brazilian rival, who defeated him in the 200-metres final. He claims that the winner of the 200metres was running on longer blades than are allowed. The official referees have said the race was within the rules established to ensure that athletes compete fairly against others with similar disabilities. 

At the heart of the Paralympic movement is a desire that all sorts of people with all sorts of disabilities can compete against people with same level of handicap. For most of us, the commitment and determination of these athletes is astonishing. 

But in all competition, the desire to win and the contrasting experience of losing produces their own challenges, which can overwhelm those taking part.

St. Paul, in writing to his troubled Corinthian friends, reminded them that the athletes of their day also had to compete with commitment in the games. ' Don’t you realise that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadow boxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.' (1 Corinthians 9.24-27)

For all who are following Christ, we need to be determined in our training - which requires daily dogged discipline to keep close to Jesus - so that every day we are living for Jesus and not for ourselves. 

While we need to be thoroughly committed, we can take encouragement that the Lord Himself is committed to helping us reach our potential. 

In yesterday's 'Starting Out!' service, Daniel reminded us of 6 great promises from God. 

Here are 2 of them. 'Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?” (Hebrews 13.5-6) The clear warning behind this promise is if we get distracted by a love for money - too easy for all of us - we will not know the closeness of Jesus.

And to keep us going to the end of the road - ' And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.' (Philippians 1.6)

So let us run today's race, trusting Jesus to keep us close, and with our eyes fixed on winning for Him.

Best wishes,

Richard