Perseverance
Illustrations
It was the summer of 1968, and the world had "Olympic
Fever." World—class athletes from almost every nation had
gathered in Mexico City for the Olympic games. Thousands of eager
spectators were on hand, and millions more all around the globe
were huddled in front of their television sets to take in the
action and to experience the spectacle of the games.
One
of the first moving moments in the history of the Olympics came on
the day of the marathon.
A large number of well-trained runners from most every continent
gathered at the starting line. The gun sounded, and the
twenty—six mile race was underway. It wound through the streets
of Mexico city and concluded in the Olympic stadium. The stadium
was filled to capacity, and millions more watched by television as
the race was finished and the awards ceremony began.
The
bronze medal was presented, followed by the silver, and finally’
the gold medal was draped around the neck of the winner. He stood
there proudly, eyes glistening, as the national anthem of his
country was played and the flag of his country was raised.
When
the awards ceremony was over, people turned their attention to
other events. Some time later, there was a mummer in the crowd as
the people in the stands realized that the marathon was not over.
A runner was still on the course. The other marathoners had
finished over an hour ago. But here came this young man from the
African nation of Tanzania, limping his way agonizingly
toward the finish line. He was in great pain. You could see it in
his race and in the awkward way he was forcing himself to keep on
running.
He
had been injured in a fall early’ in the race. Now his knees
were bleeding, his leg muscles were cramping, and dehydration was
setting in; vet he kept on running. He would not stop. He would
not quit. Finally, painfully, he crossed the finish line and fell
to the ground.
A
television reporter later told the story of the runner’s injury
and his determination to run through the pain. Then the reporter
said to him, "YOU were injured early’. You were hurting
badly. You knew you could not win the race. Why didn’t you just
give up? Why didn’t you stop? Why didn’t you just quit?"
He
answered, My country did not send me five thousand miles to start
the marathon. They sent me here to finish the marathon."
There
is a great Christian lesson in this story from Olympic history:
Perseverance is so crucial. Determination is so essential. It is
so important to finish what we start. It’s not enough to make a
good beginning. It’s not enough to run well for part of the way.
We must finish what we start. We must see it through, or it is all
of no avail!
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