Finish the Race

In the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, one of the most memorable moments didn’t come from a medal ceremony. It came from a Tanzanian marathon runner named John Stephen Akhwari. But it wasn’t memorable for the reason you might expect. You see, Akhwari didn’t finish at a record-setting pace, but rather, he finished in last place.

Mamo Wolde of Ethiopia won the marathon and finished with a time of 2:20:26. Over one hour later, Akhwari finished with a time of 3:25:27.

Early in the race he had cramped up from the altitude, then collided with another runner and hit the pavement hard. His knee was badly injured and his shoulder was banged up. He had every reason to step off the course. But he didn’t. He got back up and kept moving.

By the time he finally limped into the stadium, the crowd was small, but they rose to their feet and cheered him in. Afterward, when he was asked by a reporter why he kept going, he simply responded, “My country didn’t send me five thousand miles to start the race. They sent me five thousand miles to finish it.”

That answer is powerful because it names something every follower of Jesus needs to understand deep down. Starting the race matters, but it is not the point. We are called to finish the race.

Paul writes about this in Philippians 3. He talks about forgetting what lies behind and straining toward what lies ahead. He uses the picture of a runner leaning forward on the final stretch, fixed on the goal, determined to cross the line. Paul admits he hasn’t arrived. His life hasn’t been easy. He has been knocked down more than once. But he keeps pressing on because Christ has called him forward.

I’d like to paint a picture that may be familiar to you…

Most of us begin our Christian journey full of hope and energy. We step into new seasons of faith with excitement. But life has a way of knocking us off our feet.

We face setbacks we didn’t see coming.

We end up carrying wounds that were not part of our plans.

We get tired.

We get discouraged.

Quite frankly, sometimes it feels like limping is the best we can do.

Akhwari’s most meaningful moment didn’t happen when he took off from the starting line, but when he crossed the finish line. The stadium wasn’t full and the world wasn’t watching, but the finish was still real and worth every painful step.

The Christian life is much the same. The most significant steps are not always the highly-celebrated, dramatic ones where we are celebrating victories. They are often the small, quiet steps taken when no one else sees. The steady ones taken in faith when you feel more bruised than brave.

So if you feel worn out, keep going. If you feel behind, lean forward. If you feel like your pace has slowed to a shuffle, stay in the race. Take the next step toward Christ. Then take another. And another.

Because Christ does not call us to simply start the race. He calls us to finish it.