Dan Gable was a collegiate wrestler in the 70s who, I believe, lost only one match in his career and defeated that opponent when he wrestled him a second time. Gable beat a Russian for the Olympic gold medal when Russian/American competition was a very big thing. One of the networks did a special on Dan back then, emphasizing the extreme dedication that drove him. If I remember correctly, he had a large banner that proclaimed Beat The Russians in his basement where he trained.
How many other stories of dedication have we heard? Bobby Fischer's chess ruled his life. Rocky Bleir came back from wounds from the Vietnam War that should have kept him out of football. Gary Player made the statement that he was certain that there was not another human being that hit more golf balls than he had. Pete Maravitch is another story of dedication. He may have been the most talented man, with a basketball in his hands, that ever lived. Near the end of his life he became a Christian. He made a statement that he wished that every hour of practice that he put in on basketball had been spent on learning the Bible (or words very similar.) Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the great English preacher read a book called The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan, over 100 times during his lifetime! That book is about the only dedication that counts for eternity.
I cannot possibly list all the difficulties that a Christian encounters in life and most of them comes from himself. The discouragement from sin, from failure, from lost opportunities of starting late in life, from making wrong choices and from believing doctrines that ultimately prove untrue, are often enough to make us want to quit. I know that there are ladies out there who may earn their living washing cafeteria floors, who are not well versed in biblical doctrine, who are also far more faithful Christians than I am. There are men who work hard to feed their families and do not have the time that I have to read and attempt to defend biblical doctrine, and are stronger Christians than I. I have more than ample evidence to persuade me to quit and failures to discourage me.
There is another athletic event of extreme dedication that I remember. It was a few decades ago. A women was running a distance race and her body had given up near the end. She was not "running", not even stumbling. Her movements were contorted. The crowd was in shock as she appeared as one having a seizure as she crossed the finish, but she crossed the finish line. I don't know if I'll run or walk, stumble or crawl, but God has promised and I cling to that.
How many other stories of dedication have we heard? Bobby Fischer's chess ruled his life. Rocky Bleir came back from wounds from the Vietnam War that should have kept him out of football. Gary Player made the statement that he was certain that there was not another human being that hit more golf balls than he had. Pete Maravitch is another story of dedication. He may have been the most talented man, with a basketball in his hands, that ever lived. Near the end of his life he became a Christian. He made a statement that he wished that every hour of practice that he put in on basketball had been spent on learning the Bible (or words very similar.) Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the great English preacher read a book called The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan, over 100 times during his lifetime! That book is about the only dedication that counts for eternity.
I cannot possibly list all the difficulties that a Christian encounters in life and most of them comes from himself. The discouragement from sin, from failure, from lost opportunities of starting late in life, from making wrong choices and from believing doctrines that ultimately prove untrue, are often enough to make us want to quit. I know that there are ladies out there who may earn their living washing cafeteria floors, who are not well versed in biblical doctrine, who are also far more faithful Christians than I am. There are men who work hard to feed their families and do not have the time that I have to read and attempt to defend biblical doctrine, and are stronger Christians than I. I have more than ample evidence to persuade me to quit and failures to discourage me.
There is another athletic event of extreme dedication that I remember. It was a few decades ago. A women was running a distance race and her body had given up near the end. She was not "running", not even stumbling. Her movements were contorted. The crowd was in shock as she appeared as one having a seizure as she crossed the finish, but she crossed the finish line. I don't know if I'll run or walk, stumble or crawl, but God has promised and I cling to that.
