What are you striving for?
In the 1968 Olympics, four athletes were sent from Tanzania to be a part of the Olympic games in Mexico City. No one from Tanzania had ever won an Olympic medal. This small East African country was hopeful that one of these four could be the first to bring home a medal to their country.
One of those athletes was a runner by the name of John Stephen Akhwari.
Akhwari was a long distance runner who called Mount Kilimanjaro home, but he wasn’t used to running long distances at the elevation that Mexico City presented. Mexico City was 2,300 meters above sea level which made the Olympic marathon that much more difficult for all those in the race that day.
Because of the altitude, it wasn’t long into the race when Akhwari was slowed by cramps. Then, at about the halfway point of the race, he was trying to improve his position in the race when he was involved in a pile-up of other runners.
Now he has a bruised shoulder and a gashed and badly dislocated right knee.
The Olympic medical staff came to help. They bandaged him up and advised him to stop the race. In fact, 18 other runners did stop and chose not to finish.
But Akhwari wasn’t one of them. He continued on.
What happens when the race we’re running becomes difficult?
I want to start here because I think this is the point, this is the moment, where many legacies are made.
If we think about the important people in our lives, the people we look up to as incredible people in life or incredible people of faith, my guess is that every one of them has a story of overcoming something. The reason we look up to the people we look up to is because of what they overcame in the face of adversity to do something great. And that story becomes their legacy.
That ability to overcome came from a desire, a striving.
What they were striving for gave them the ability to overcome or at least face whatever adversity came their way and when they accomplished what they set out to do, their legacy was born.
So if what we’re striving for determines our legacy, let me ask it again…
What are we striving for?
Is it God?
The Problem of Striving
This problem of striving for all the wrong things has been a point of tension from the very beginning.
Paul once wrote these words to his friends in the church at Philippi…
I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.
What are the “things” Paul is talking about that he once thought were valuable? If you back up a few verses, you find out. He’s talking about his resume. His accolades. His accomplishments. His pedigree. His former status as a leading Pharisee and important person in his community.
You see, they valued the exact same things we value. They valued wealth, position, status, accomplishments, and achievements. And Paul had them all! Put him up next to anyone and Paul would rise to the top. He was in line to become one of the most if not the most important leading Pharisee of his time!
So much of our identity is tied up in the exact same things because we strive for the exact same things. 2000 years later, human beings haven’t changed.
All of these things center on our name, our fame, and our renown. If we exist to make ourselves known, we’ll chase after all those things. What the world doesn’t tell you is that striving to make your name known is too small a thing to live for.
Paul says, I had it all! Everything people want, everything people strive for, I had it all.
BUT… now, now that I know Jesus, I consider them ALL WORTHLESS.
Knowing Jesus
Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ…
Paul says the one thing that is of infinite value, the one thing worth striving for is this… KNOWING JESUS!
You probably already know that the church in America is in a steep decline.
I don’t know if you feel a sense of urgency. But we’re getting to that point where, if we want to have a legacy to pass on, or someone to pass it on too, then we need to ask the question…
What is it we really want to pass on? And what are we willing to do to reach this next generation for Christ so we pass on a legacy of faith in Christ?
I don’t know about you, but for me, I’m like Paul… there were, once upon a time, things I thought were valuable. But now that I have kids, now that I know 5 in 10 students won’t be following Jesus after they graduate from high school, there’s really only 1 thing that matters to me.
Paul says it so well,
Yes, Everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
I don’t know about you, but this is the Legacy I want to leave.
That we live to know Jesus and make Him known.
Parents, do your kids know that you’re striving to know Jesus? What do they think you are striving for? Is it something other than Jesus?
Grandparents – do your grandkids know you’re striving to know Jesus? Do they see the joy of the Lord in you? What do they see in you?
Let’s be real honest for a moment, the reason the church is shrinking, the reason our kids are walking away from faith after high school, it’s not because the church is necessarily doing anything wrong. It’s not because the youth minister didn’t teach enough classes on apologetics!
Why So Many Kids End Up Walking Away from Faith
The number 1 reason the next generation keeps walking away from the faith is because they haven’t seen a faith worth holding on to in us.
What they are holding on to is what we’re holding on to. What we’ve said is most valuable.
You see, whether you know it or not you are discipling your kids. So you get what you are spiritually. Generally speaking. If we want our kids and grandkids to have a real and lasting relationship with Jesus, then we have to have a real, tangible, visible relationship with Jesus. We have to have it and we have to model it.
We pass on what we hold most dear. What we value most.
This just happens.
Paul goes on to say…
I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, 11 so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!
This was Paul’s legacy, this is what he was known for. He was known for his love for Jesus and His church.
What are you known for?
John Stephen Akhwari kept running despite his bruised shoulder, despite the gash on his dislocated knee.
No one knows how he kept on running that day, but he did.
Now, he’s in last place. The sun in going down. All the other runners have finished the race. Many of the spectators have left. The camera crews are packing up when Akhwari finally enters the stadium to finish the marathon. Everyone else is done.
Those who were still in the stadium see him running in and they begin to clap. The applause of the entire stadium erupts as they realize what’s happening. The camera crews rush back to their spots to capture this moment. Here comes Akhwari, running painfully, to finish the race. His bandages are falling off. You can tell that despite all the pain he’s feeling, he is going to finish this race.
And that’s exactly what he does.
Despite the painful journey, despite the cramps, the high altitude, the gashed and dislocated knee, despite all the adversity Akhwari finished the race.
After he finished the race, reporters surrounded him and they all wanted to know the answer to same question, “Why did you keep running the race?”
That’s when Akhwari gave one of the most famous lines in all of Olympic history. He said, “My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race. They sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race.”
He finished the race. He finished what he was striving for despite the pain and adversity he faced and his legacy was born.
Pressing On
I don’t know what you’re striving for, but this is what I want you to strive for. I want you to strive to finish this race well that we’re running.
Paul says it this way in Philippians 3.14: “I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”
Here’s what I believe is true:
The legacy you leave is the result of the passion and pursuit of your life.
Everyone leaves a legacy. The question is not, will we leave a legacy. The question is what kind of legacy will we leave?
One day, we will finish this race. On that day, it won’t be about who came in first or who came in last.
You know what’s interesting, no one really even remembers who won Gold, Silver or Bronze in the 1968 Olympic Marathon race. But if you ask people who follow the Olympics about the 1968 games, they’re quick to remember the story of John Stephen Akhwari.
Why? Because he overcame adversity to finish the race well.
Like Akhwari, your God didn’t send you here to start a race. He sent you here to finish the race. To run the race set before you full of faith.
And the race you run isn’t about winning gold, it’s about finishing well.
May we run the race set before us in such a way that those around us remember this about us: That knowing Jesus was our highest aim.
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