Last time I told you about my friend Paul Hurkman and the God-inspired task he’s attempting.
This photo shows Paul in Cartagena, Colombia at the completion of marathon #6 in six days. In his situation, I’m not sure I’d be smiling. At the finish line, as part of a brief interview, Paul said this experience was “brutal but beautiful.”
By the time you read this, he will have completed marathon #7 in Miami.
As I said last time, people engage in these sorts of insane challenges for many reasons. Paul’s reason is clear – he’s following Jesus. He believes he’s doing what he can with what he has, and trusting Jesus for the outcome.
So far, the community surrounding Paul has donated more than $300,000 to rescue trafficked girls through VENTURE, Paul’s nonprofit. His team, 30 FOR FREEDOM, has raised more than $700,000.
I’ll also bet if you had a conversation with Paul, he would tell you the dollars are a big deal – but not the central issue. The central issue is Jesus.
If you listen to Paul speak, he’ll frequently reference the literally dozens of times the Bible talks about justice for the weak, the orphan, the immigrant. He’ll talk about love for our neighbor and what that means – because “neighbor,” as Jesus sees it, is moral rather than geographic.
The event in which Paul is participating is called GREAT WORLD RACE. At the end of each marathon, participants receive a medal. Paul will go home with 7 medals, and I’m sure he’s proud of that. Who wouldn’t be? I’m also sure those medals aren’t even on his list of reasons for making this remarkable sacrifice of time and effort.
Some folks are trying to win. Paul is there for a bigger purpose.
His wife, Candace, and their beautiful children will greet him at the finish line. I’m sure that will bring him great joy as well. But he’s thinking about all the girls that will be rescued as a result of his sacrifice. He’s thinking about the people who will see Jesus in his efforts.
Well done, good and faithful servant.
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During the GREAT WORLD RACE, Paul has acquired a nickname among organizers and competitors – Galloping Jesus. You can probably see why.
One of his friends used AI to create this fun picture.