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.
Author unknown. If anyone has a proprietary interest in this story please
authenticate and I will be happy to credit, or remove, as the circumstances
dictate.
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