What the Olympics Taught Us about the Purpose of Life

I need to begin with a confession: the Paris Olympics began without me. I didn’t watch the opening ceremonies live (though I had to respond later to their awful parody of The Last Supper). I ignored the first few days of the competition since I didn’t know much about the athletes or their events.

But over time, I was drawn in. By last Saturday, I was cheering as Steph Curry flung long-range daggers to lead the US men’s basketball team to gold. I was a proud American as our women’s national teams won nail-biters to secure gold in soccer and basketball.

US gymnast Simone Biles cemented her Greatest Of All Time status. Divers contorted their bodies in ways that seemed impossible; runners trained for years, only to win or lose by thousandths of a second; athletes exhibited selfless and inspiring sportsmanship.

Yesterday’s closing ceremonies included the traditional handoff to the next Olympic host city, in this case, Los Angeles, in 2028. But in true Hollywood fashion, Tom Cruise performed a “jaw-dropping stunt” by diving from the top of Stade de France to the stage, drove the Olympic flag via motorcycle into a waiting airplane, went skydiving with it into Los Angeles, and transformed the “HOLLYWOOD” sign to include the Olympic rings.

More than ten thousand athletes came to the Paris Olympics from 206 delegations. Each of them had a purpose that motivated the rigorous training and sacrificial discipline that brought them there.

As Friedrich Nietzsche observed, “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.”

How Far Would Your DNA Stretch?

According to scientists, the annual Perseid meteor shower peaked early this morning. Here’s the problem: I went outside around 4:20 am, spent sixty seconds staring into the night sky, and saw no meteors flashing by. Now I am free to conclude that the whole thing is a hoax, or I can admit that astronomers know more about the universe than I do and assume that I simply needed more patience. My presuppositions will determine the way I interpret my experience.

From bodies in the heavens to ours on earth: I was shocked to read that if the DNA in my body could be unwound and linked together, it would stretch for 110 billion miles. Having no way to verify personally what seems a ludicrous assertion, once again, I am forced to make a presuppositional decision.

Here’s how these stories relate to today’s theme: finding your “why to live” is directly connected to your beliefs regarding life itself. If you think you are the intended creation of a Father who loves you, you’ll see yourself through a prism of purposeful significance. If, however, you think you are the unintended descendent of ancient microbes and that humans developed without God (a belief more popular than ever before), you’ll likely agree with a statement I saw graffitied on an overpass recently: “Live Love Die.”

A society as secularized as ours should not be shocked by the mental health crisis our teenagers are experiencing, a worsening epidemic of distress tied to political turmoil and social isolation. Or by our declining birth rate due in large part to a loss of meaning, prompting many young adults to forego childbearing.

Sir Richard Steele (1672–1729) diagnosed our culture as well as his own:

“People spend their lives in the service of their passions instead of employing their passions in the service of their lives.”

The latter illumines a path to purpose that enlivens our spirits and empowers our cultural influence.

“The Joy and Peace of the Divine Life”

I was reading through Jeremiah recently and was stopped by God’s statement to his people: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you” (Jeremiah 31:3). Likewise, as Jesus prayed in Gethsemane for his followers, he noted that his Father “loved them even as you loved me” (John 17:23). “Even as” could be translated “to the same degree.”

Think of it: the God of the universe loves you as much as he loves his own Son.

Is this because you and I are worthy of such love? To the contrary, it is because “God is love” (1 John 4:8, my emphasis). He loves us because he must love us. His unchanging character demands it (Malachi 3:6).

Such love empowers us to live with transcendent purpose. We are free to serve others, however they respond to us, because we have no need to be served. We are free to love others, whether they love us or not, because we know that we are loved unconditionally by our Father.

Henri Nouwen observed:

The state of the world suggests to me the urgent need for a spirituality that takes the end things very seriously, not a spirituality of withdrawal, nor of blindness to the powers of the world, but a spirituality that allows us to live in this world without belonging to it, a spirituality that allows us to take the joy and peace of the divine life even when we are surrounded by the powers and principalities of evil, death, and destruction.

Such “spirituality” is available to you right now.

“In a Week Where My Faith Was Tried”

US track and field superstar Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone regularly writes on Instagram about her faith in Christ. After she broke her own world record in winning her second Olympic gold medal in the women’s 400-meter hurdles, she testified: “In a week where my faith was tried, my peace wavered, and the weight of the world began to descend, God was beyond gracious.”

Then she quoted Psalm 115:1: “Not to us, O Lᴏʀᴅ, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!”

Why do you need to claim this “steadfast love” today?

*Denison Forum does not necessarily endorse the views expressed in these stories.

Quote for the Day:

“What gives me the most hope every day is God’s grace; knowing that his grace is going to give me the strength for whatever I face, knowing that nothing is a surprise to God.” —Rick Warren

Published Date: August 12, 2024

Jim Denison, PhD, is a cultural theologian and the founder and CEO of Denison Ministries. Denison Ministries includes DenisonForum.org, First15.org, ChristianParenting.org, and FoundationsWithJanet.org. Jim speaks biblically into significant cultural issues at Denison Forum. He is the chief author of The Daily Article and has written more than 30 books, including The Coming Tsunami, the Biblical Insight to Tough Questions series, and The Fifth Great Awakening.