Running the Race

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, Hebrews 12:1 (NKJV)


 Life is a highway is a song that I like, but it is a philosophy that many of us live by. What is the highway for? A highway is for traveling long distances at high speeds in hopes of getting to our destination sooner. Great for cross-country trips: bad for living life.

The writer of Hebrews may have had this in mind when he wrote this verse. He spent the previous chapter recalling many dead heroes of the faith and their impact on their times. These constitute the great cloud of witnesses he speaks of. He points to them as examples of perseverance and faithfulness in difficult times during this life of faith. They were people tempted and tried like we are, yet they stayed the course and finished their lives having been faithful to God. They weren't perfect. They weren't special. They just got it. They understood God and who He is. They fell in love with Him and would not trade anything for their relationship with Him.


Because of these witnesses, the writer exhorts his readers to unburden themselves with the weights of this life. Desires for wealth, fame, success, possessions, power, or sex are just many of the things that can deter us from this life that has been given to us. They detract from the focus of this life which is our relationship with Christ. We struggle and we worry and we strive for things that will one day soon fade away and rust and die and rot. Why? All for a brief moment of self-satisfaction. We spend our lives struggling for those things which can never truly fulfill us. That hole in our lives has a particular shape and size. Only God can fill it. If all the things listed can give us peace, why do the rich, wealthy, famous, and powerful still feel empty? Why do they go from marriage to marriage, or relationship to relationship, yet never seem satisfied? It is truly because those things can never give us what we need: forgiveness.

Forgiveness is a foreign concept in our post-Christian world. Why? Because the fact of our sinful nature which results in sinful actions is no longer thought to even exist. This teaching is why when we have horrific events like the recent massacre at a Colorado move theater, we spend all of our time searching for why it happened. The reason is simple: this man was consumed by a desire to sin and do these dreadful deeds. Yet the rest of us are the same. We are consumed by this same desire to sin. Jesus said that to be angry with someone without cause is the same as murder (Matthew 5:21-22). The writer of Hebrews again exhorts us to not only lay aside the weights of life, but also the sins of life which we fall prey to so easily. The Apostle Paul tells us to put on the new man made in the image of Christ. At it's core, Christianity is a simple thing: we turn from sin and turn to God. This is simply what the writer is telling us to do.

We need to do these things to thrive in life, because life is not a highway, but a race. It is not a sprint, but  along distance race in which our only competition is that sinful nature which wants to slow us down in the race of life. It is a continual process turning from our sin. Some days are good, other days are not as good, and still others are horrid. But we must continue to run. We must never give up, never quit, and never surrender. The prize is already ours. Jesus has paid the price for our sins, so we do not have the weight of judgment hanging over our heads. He has removed the immovable weight of guilt and given us hope that we can run this race. One thing is for certain, that whether we continue to run, or we sit on the side of the road, this race continues. Life stops for no one or nothing. If you find yourself in a state of fear, panic, pain, agony, doubt, dread, loneliness, abandonment, betrayal, sickness, indebtedness, joblessness, whatever state you find yourself in, the sun will rise tomorrow and you must face that day with it's challenges and troubles. So, man-up! This race is tough! But you have to face it! Through it all, Jesus is there with you. If you trust in Him, He will guide you through it. It may not be pretty. You may not have all that you desire in this life, but you must remember that the goal is the finish line and not all the trophies we collect along the way. God bless.