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.

Run with Purpose

When God created you, He did so with a specific purpose in mind.  Find out what it is. Ask Him what it is. See what it is, write it down and run with it. "I do not run uncertainly (without definite aim)" Paul writes in one of his letters to the Corinthians. In other words, he was saying "I run with a definite aim" or "I run with purpose." My exhortation to you this week is make it your business to find your purpose and run with it. In other words,  Run with purpose.