Years of dedication put in by each competitor to reach their full potential and excel at their discipline, all competing to reach their full potential and push the boundaries of what has been achieved before, in a peaceful, respectful way that values every individual.

In our world at the moment, with that competitive spirit often displayed in negative ways, as egos or belief systems compete through violence and war, the example set by the sports men and women is desperately needed to show the world a way we can appreciate one another and work together without needing to put others down or destroy them in the process of achieving our own goals.

It would be very easy when we see what has been going on around us, from the Holy Land, to Ukraine and closer to home, Southport, just to name a few, to lose hope and give up trying to make the world a better place, feeling defeated and that all the evil that works against us is too overwhelming. We lament when we see humanity behaving in such ways, but our athletes again set an example, in that nothing worth having is achieved without hard work, persistence and endurance and we need to keep working hard to overcome this behaviour and not let it win.

Catherine of Siena once said, ‘nothing great was ever done without much enduring’ and I suspect there is a lot of truth in that. Superficial progress is made quickly, but deep, long lasting progress takes time and commitment to embed it and strengthen it. Even in nature we see this pattern, those things growing too quickly don’t last long, but that which grows slowly puts down strong and deep roots and endures much longer. Violence is a quick, reactive response, but it does nothing to create stability or solve the problems in the long term.

The race we are running is a marathon, not a sprint. To grow the Kingdom of God takes time, commitment and endurance. It takes discipline and training and learning from our mistakes. But it also involves getting back up and trying again when we have been defeated or set back.

My husband is a mountain biker and we watched Tom Pidcock win the gold in a quite spectacular fashion. He could have given up when he got his puncture and found himself set back forty seconds behind the leader, quite a gap to pull back. But instead of accepting defeat, he set off again with a renewed passion and determination. That energised his come back to catch and overtake his opponent and win the gold.

In Hebrews 12:1-2 we read, ‘we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.’

We are not in this alone. Throughout history many have gone before us who have fought similar evil and endured, and they continue to cheer us on giving encouragement and hope like the crowds supporting our athletes until they get to the finish line, our aim. We fix our eyes upon Jesus and the kingdom he promises, where all that divides us is overcome, relationships are restored, swords are beaten into ploughshares, justice and righteousness prevail and all evil is removed, tears are wiped away, and death and mourning and crying and pain will be no more. We don’t allow the evil around us to steal our hope, that this can be achieved and we keep persevering in our contribution towards creating this place of peace and love and true community, which values every individual and sees the world working in the harmony and perfection God desires.

Let us too, run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on that hope to come, a world restored and healed, living at peace!