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from Mark Phillips
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Topics: Perseverance, Encouragement
A decade ago, Quote magazine carried a story about one man's amazing persistence. The nations of the world had gathered for the Olympic games. Athletes from around the globe had trained for years to compete in the games, and finally, the time had arrived.
The Marathon, while not always exciting to watch, is surely the most
severe Olympic test of human endurance. Many runners trained extensively
to compete. The race began, and eventually, the winner came running back
into the Olympic Stadium, welcomed by cheers from the appreciative fans.
Soon other runners arrived as well, and eventually, the race was over.
Over, that is, except for one runner.
A single, lone runner was still out on the course. Other track events
continued in the stadium, and an hour passed. Then two. Finally several
hours later, the final runner, an athlete from Tanzania, entered the
stadium. His pace was slow. His steps were wobbly. His knee was bloody
and bandaged from a fall earlier in the race. He looked absolutely
terrible, but as he entered the stadium, the fans realized who he was and
what he was doing, and they began to cheer. As he made his way around
the track and finally, painfully, across the finish line, the cheers
swelled as the fans saluted the man’s determination.
Later, after the race, the runner was asked why, even though he had lost
the race by several hours, he had continued running. His answer was
simple: "My country did not send me 7000 miles away to start the race.
They sent me 7000 miles to finish it."
Paul said that a crown of life awaits each of us who finishes the race.
But finishing is much harder than starting. Finishing means running day
in and day out. Finishing means training and self-denial and staying
focused on the goal.
God has not put you here to start. God has put you here to finish. Keep
running the good race.
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