Cheering Section

Tom Barnard

 

“Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us! So we must get rid of everything

that slows us down, especially the sin that just won’t let go. And we must be

determined to run the race that is ahead of us.”

(Hebrews 12:1 CEV)

 

Eric Moussambani. You probably don’t recognize his name. He became famous during the 2000 Summer Olympics—the XXVII Olympiad—in Sydney, Australia. Eric was one of 10,651 athletes that competed in 300 events. His only event was the 100 meter freestyle swimming. He won his heat in the world’s slowest competitive time of 1:52.72 only because the two other swimmers competing against him were disqualified for false starts. The eventual gold-medal winner in the 100 meter that year was Peter van den Hoogenband, who set won the finals in a record time of 47.84 seconds.

 

Eric had not won anything major in his life previously. And he would not prevail at Sydney. He was a 22-year-old guy from Guinea. The only reason he was allowed to compete without meeting minimum qualification requirements was due to a policy created by the International Olympic Committee that encouraged developing countries to send young athletes who would compete in preliminaries through a wildcard draw. Eric won the draw and was permitted to swim in the 100 meter prelims.

 

Before the Olympics, Eric had never even seen a 50 meter length pool—the Olympic-size pool. He took up swimming only eight months earlier and had practiced in a 20 meter pool at a hotel in the city of Malabo.

 

His story drew the attention of the media. They nicknamed him “Eric the Eel.” Crowds watched with interest as he flopped into the pool (alone because of the earlier false starts) and splashed his way to the finish line, more than seven seconds off the world record for the 200 meter swim. But he had won the hearts of the crowd, who cheered him on to his unspectacular finish. His final words: “The last 15 meters were very difficult.” But he finished. It was his last swim. He failed to make it to the 2004 Olympics due to a visa problem. He didn’t compete in 2008.

 

The writer to the Hebrews referred to “a large crowd of witnesses” all around us. And what are they doing? Competing? No. Cheering us on? Yes! And who is the One waiting for us at the finish line? “Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete.” Two great incentives—the witnesses who cheer us forward, and Jesus, the “author and perfecter of our faith.”  It doesn’t get any better than that.

 

Heavenly Father, thank you for this great promise. Thank you for not only capturing my heart, but for allowing me to enter the Race. And even more, for providing the motivation and spiritual support to win it. I can never thank you enough. May others decide to join me. Amen.