Dr. Michael Dent / August 20, 2012
I don’t watch a lot of TV. There are no “must see” comedy or drama series on my calendar. However, I found myself in front of the screen for several hours most nights during the recent Summer Olympics. The drama of the competition and the backstories of the athletes were often compelling.
Against the backdrop of announcers who said more than once that a U.S. team member had to “settle” for a silver medal, came a refreshing story. It is of an athlete from South Africa who ran in several track races. His name is Oscar Pistorius. He is 25 and became the first double leg amputee to compete in the Olympic Games. He is called the “Blade Runner” because he competes with two carbon fiber blades attached to the stumps just below his knees. Though he did not win a medal, he touched the hearts of spectators in and beyond London’s Olympic Stadium by his courage, competiveness, and sporting motto: “You’re not disabled by the disabilities you have, you are able by the abilities you have.”
Though no medal hung around his neck, Oscar was a role model to all of us not to give up because we are differently-abled. He embodies perseverance and determination. He grew up in a Christian home. Perhaps Oscar was influenced by Paul’s words, “Do you not know that in a race all runners compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it…Athletes exercise self-control in all things…So do not run aimlessly…” (I Corinthians 9:24-27)
Are you defined by your disabilities or your abilities? What abilities are you using for kingdom work? How are you running the race of life?
