Tour de France – a personal view

The event I had been training for – a 230, 3-day ride from London to Paris – went remarkably well.

Brief report and thanks on my website www.simonvibert.com – and a belated opportunity to give to the great work of the Big Issue Foundation.

On Sunday 26th July we had a relaxed day in a frenetically busy Paris.  We saw a Brit doing remakably well at the front of the Pelaton and make a break for the finish of the Tour de France.  We stood just at the edge of the Champs Elysee and watched as they did the circuit several times at a remarkable speed, dwarfing our own average of 17 mph!

Athletic language is quite dominant in the New Testament: Paul talks about subduing his body – not for the adrenalin rush of being physically fit – but for the great ambition of seeing God’s Kingdom extended:

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last for ever.  Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.  No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.  (1 Cor 9:25-27).

So, as I return back from Sabbatical next week, I want to ensure that I am just as discplined in my academic and devotional life, ensuring that I shall not only preach to others, but shall preach to myself, bringing my body and my soul under the forming and shaping discipline of the Holy Spirit.