Run the Race

Hebrews 12: 1-2

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ² Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Most of us have been watching the Olympic games for the past couple of weeks, so the verses above should be easily understood.  I still like to watch the track and field competition more than anything else. Those athletes trim themselves down so they aren't slowed by anything. They practice and keep on practicing in order to gain faster speed and be declared a winner at the end of the race.

Just the same way the writer of Hebrews has assured us we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses (those heroes of faith from chapter 11), and then compares our progress as a Christian to a race.  In order for us to be successful in completing the Christian race, we have to get rid of everything that will hinder and entangle us.  The hardest thing for us to get through our heads is that God expects us to get rid of some things when we become his children. We try to be a Christian and at the same time, hold on to the things of this world.  We want to run the race for God while we are persistent in continuing with an habitual sin. God says those things only slow you down and make you less than a winner.  Please allow me to show you two things that need to happen for us to be successful in our race.

1.  Laying the hindrances aside, we need to run with perseverance.  Assuming that we are successful in getting life's entanglements out of the way, then we need to be persistent in our progress. This is called Christian maturity, and even earlier in Hebrews there are words of chastisement for those who have called themselves God's people for a long time, yet are still nourished  by milk, just like a baby. Further encouragement can be read into those verses when they give the suggestion that by now we should be including the meat in our spiritual diet.  It is then we have prepared ourselves to run the race with perseverance, including regular times we devote to growing and maturing in the Lord. 

2. We must fix our eyes on Jesus. If you have been a Christian very long, you know the danger of neglecting to keep our focus on Jesus. That is the opportunity Satan looks for to slow us down to a crawl and prevent us from completing the race. The verses above describe Jesus as the one who authored and perfected our faith. He endured the cross. It is Jesus that is at the right hand of God.  Every step of our journey through life, or our race, comes with the necessity to keep our spiritual vision firmly on Jesus. 

We can mature into the person God planned for us to be through close adherence to his commands, sharing in love toward each other, and running the race to completion.  

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