Sat 12 Aug

It seems like it was an eternity ago that the Commonwealth Games Committee announced that the Gold Coast would host the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Some athletes who will compete will not have been born when the winning bid was announced. However, you can sense the dedication, the commitment, the sacrifice that many athletes will make just to get to the Games. The early hours of getting up in the middle of the night to practice swimming or diving or running. The sacrifices that many families will make to see a son or daughter, a mum or dad compete at such an elite level. For some the pain and suffering and long hours will have been worth it as they march into the arena on that Opening Ceremony Night to the applause of all those in the stadium. For others they will aim for the podium with a gold or silver or bronze medal around their necks. And if you were to ask them has the pain and suffering been worth just to receive a few moments of glory, what do you think their response will be? Paul writes to the Christian church in Rome. Has the suffering, the pain, the insults, the mocking by fellow citizens of Rome been worth it? You've endured the torture and the persecution was it worth it to put yourself and your family through that? Paul writes, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory the will be revealed in us." As a Christian living in Wyndham are you ready to face suffering? Meditate on God's words of comfort for you in Romans 8:18-27 as you face trouble and suffering.