| Kriss Akabusi has long been able to pursue success at a rapid speed. But for much of his life, when he caught it he found himself still feeling empty.
"The purpose of my life was to accumulate as many "things" as possible: fast cars, a nice home, a good music system," says Akabusi, a world-class British hurdler. "But the result was always the same. Once I had gotten something, there was something else I wanted. I began to think there had to be another meaning to life."
Akabusi began to apply his mind to the claims of Jesus Christ.
"Over a period of 10 months I investigated (Jesus)," he says. "I'd heard about Jesus before, but I never realized that he'd walked on earth and that he claimed things like, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6) and "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10)
"I finally became convinced that Jesus is the Son of God and that he loves me and died for my sins. I was excited to grasp that Jesus promises eternal life to anyone who believes in him. I made a decision to give my life to Christ and follow him."
He already had an Olympic silver medal (4x400-meter relay) from the 1984 Games. He added gold from the Commonwealth Games in 1986 (4x400-meter relay), a silver from the same event in the World Championships in the year he gave his life to Christ, and three more golds from the Commonwealth (1) and European Championships in 1990. A gold and a bronze followed in '91 at the World Championships, and in '92 he earned Olympic medals again, a pair of bronze (4x400-meter relay and 400m hurdles). Akabusi collected many great "things," but they were put in perspective by his decision to give his life to Christ.
"When I committed my life to Christ, I received a prize worth more than all the glory of winning a gold medal," says Akabusi, now a popular media personality in Great Britain. "God forgave my sins, he took away my dissatisfaction, and he became the meaning of my life."
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