A few months back, I lined up at the start of a fifty-kilometer trail race next to a woman wearing a shoe deal on her feet and a sponsor’s logo across her chest. I had trained through the winter on cracked pavement in secondhand shoes, and for one embarrassing minute at that start line, I felt small. Not because my legs weren’t ready, but because I’d let someone else’s collection of gear convince me that greatness gets handed out in podiums and paychecks.
I thought about that morning again when I read a story about Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson landing her own signature collection with Nike—four shoes and a full run of apparel in black and metallic gold. Signature deals like that are rare in our sport, historically saved for a small handful of the biggest names on the track. Hodgkinson’s own words about it were simple and generous. She said she hoped every young girl watching would believe that big dreams are worth chasing.
There’s nothing wrong with that hope, and there’s nothing wrong with a hard-earned collection. But here’s what running has taught me over thousands of training miles: the world’s version of greatness is built on being seen, being sponsored, and being first across the line. And one day, every runner who ever stood on a podium will set that trophy down, and it will mean nothing next to what Jesus told us really matters.
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28)
I have run enough miles alone on dark roads to know that nobody hands out a signature collection for showing up when it’s cold and when nobody’s watching. And that’s exactly the point Jesus was making to His disciples. He took the world’s entire scoreboard and flipped it over. Greatness in His kingdom isn’t measured by who gets served. It’s measured by who’s willing to serve.
When Jesus said whoever wants to become great must be a servant, He was contradicting every leadership model those disciples had ever seen—models built on rank and control. When He said whoever wants to be first must be a slave, He was pointing to a position with no rights and no status in that culture, showing that real greatness costs us our pride before it costs us anything else. And when He said the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many, He was telling us that our lives are meant to be measured by what we pour out, not what we collect.
I’ve paced runners through their hardest miles, the ones where they wanted to quit at mile thirty and had nothing left to give. I never once wore a medal for that. But I’ve never felt more like I was doing exactly what I was made for. That’s the kind of race Jesus is calling us to run—one where the miles nobody sees are the ones that count the most.
So don’t chase a collection this world will forget in a decade. It has no lasting weight and no eternal finish line. Instead, run the harder race of serving quietly, of showing up for people who can’t pay you back, and of pouring yourself out the way Jesus did. You might never see your name on a shoebox. But you’ll hear something better at the glorious judgement seat of Christ.
Prayer:
Lord, thank You for measuring greatness so differently than the world does. Help me follow the example Jesus set, so clearly that other people will want to know Him because of how I live. Strip away my pride, Lord, and remind me that nothing I collect in this life will satisfy me the way doing Your will does. In Jesus’ precious name, I pray. Amen.
Happy Running!
Melissa Sharp is an ultra runner and running coach who has completed more than 100 marathons and ultra marathons. Melissa has learned how to keep running the race of life for the glory of Christ even though she endured decades of domestic abuse. Melissa is a survivor. Through her daily blog thejoyfilledrunner she inspires others to live in the strength of Christ.
