The World-Class Athlete Who did not Run the Race

"On your marks… get set… ready…"

Blast!

All the runners take off except one.  Though his supporters cheer him on, he remains on his mark, head up, watching the others go.  He stays in the same position until the race is finished.  

After the race, his coach runs up to him and wearingly asks him what went wrong.  The lad turns to look at his coach and excitedly exclaims, "Coach, I've achieved my dream, coach!" raising his hands as if he were the winner of the race.  The coach is dump folded and gives the lad a questioning stare. "Yea, I've made it. I've made it to the big race," the young athlete beams out.

It took some time for the coach to understand what the athlete was saying but it finally emerged that a lot of people had told the athlete that they would be proud of him even if he only qualified for the race. So, he made it his life dream and ambition to make it into the race until he did.  And when had done so, it never occurred to him that he had to run the race – so he didn't.

This story may shock many of us but this is a typical example of how some of us have shortchanged ourselves in life.  This may not true for every area of our lives but in some of them. The two that came to mind right now are your purpose and your walk of faith.  

·        Your Purpose
Many of us are excited at the prospect of finding out what our purpose in life is.    We have been told of all the benefits of finding our purposes so much that it passes us that finding our purposes is only the fist step of the journey; it is like making it to the starting point of your big race in life.  After finding out what is your purpose in life you have the new task of pursuing it. If you just find your purpose and don't pursue it you're no different to the world-class athlete who made it to the tracks he so desired and prepared for but did not run the race when the time to do so came.


·        Your Walk of Faith
Another place where people act like the world-class athlete who did not run the race is in their walk of faith. Many people have 'surrendered' their lives to Christ but care not to live for him. Responding to Christ's call to salvation and repenting from one's sinfulness is but making it to the big race. Running the race to win it starts with you changing your ways, flows into your involvement into Christian service, transcends into your work of faith.  Your walk of faith will lead you to a place where you do exploits for God when it is full blown. Up till this happens, you are like the world-class athlete who has not run the race.

Are you pursuing your purpose?  Are you growing in your walk of faith? The world-class athlete lived the rest of his life regretting that he had missed his opportunity to run his big race. Are you running yours?

Be Inspired.