Everybody hails the runner who finishes first. Who pays any attention to the
runner who finishes last? One reporter did at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico
City. The runner was John Stephen Akhwari of Tanzania. His right leg was
bandaged, he was bleeding, and obviously in great pain. By the time he reached
the stadium it was dark, the race long over. As he completed his run a reporter
asked him why he did this. He said, “My country didn’t send me here to
start the race. My country sent me here to finish it.” That was the
philosophy of Jesus who said, “Be faithful even to the point of death and
I will give you the crown of life. (Rev. 2:10)
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