On Oct. 10, 1976, at the age of 98, Greece’s Dimitrion Yordanidis became the oldest man to compete in and finish a marathon (7 hours, 33 minutes). That record still stands today, although an Englishman named Buster Martin said he was 101 in 2008 when he ran the London Marathon in just under 10 hours. Martin’s age couldn’t be verified, though, so Yordanidis retained the mark as the oldest to complete a 26.2-mile race.

The fact that Yordanidis didn’t win the race doesn’t concern me. That he lived that long inspires me, and the fact he competed in the race was amazing. But that he actually finished 26.2 miles was unbelievable.

He obviously wasn’t concerned with how old he was, the distance of the race or how long it took to complete the course. His main goal and reason for entering the race was doing well enough to finish.

Like our lives as believers, our situation or circumstances (whether it’s being too old or too young, or whether it’s a difficult task, etc.) shouldn’t hinder us from doing things for God or doing what God created us to do. If we are still breathing, God has a reason and a purpose for us being here. That alone should be reason enough to motivate us to live our life pleasing to God.

Today, let’s start truly living by living for God.

By Brett Honeycutt

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