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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 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and
perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning
its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him
who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and
lose heart.
Dig
Deeper
Running a long
endurance race, like a marathon is no easy task. In fact, the
Greek word used in this passage for race is the root word from which we get our
word “agony.” No matter how well trained you are, a long distance
race is going to be painful and require endurance. Anything that
helps to keep one focused on the race and motivated through the course of an
event that has many emotional ups and downs is greatly appreciated and, dare I
say, necessary. This past month I decided to compete in another
marathon event and even though I have completed many before, each one is
difficult and there were several times throughout the race where my mind toyed
with the idea of quitting. One of the things that is encouraging
and keeps the runners motivated and going throughout the race is the great crowd
of spectators that line the streets all through the course of the race.
As encouraging as that can be, however, that begins to lost its
motivation after a time. What really begins to motivate me,
though, as I start to tread through the last mile or two of the race are those
that have finished ahead of me. There’s usually not a lot of them
yet at that point, but peppered throughout the last mile or so are those that
have already finished the race. They could go off and enjoy their
accomplishment but instead they come back down the course and cheer on those
that are still running. Just seeing those that have already
completed the course and knowing that, yes it can be done and soon I will be
joining them, is a powerful motivator.
It is that type of
motivation upon which Paul draws for an effective analogy of the rigors of the
Christian life. The author drew on imagery that would have been
quite familiar in the Roman world to which he was writing. These
people took their athletics seriously. Physical training was a
vitally important aspect of life in the Empire of Rome. Biblical
historian, Everett Ferguson, in his work Backgrounds of Early
Christianity, says that:
“Foot races were held
in the stadium. Several of these stadia still survive with
their starting and finish lines (cf. The mark or goal in Phil. 3:14).
The Greek stadia accommodated spectators on the grassy slopes on each
side of the flat running surfaces.
The major sports were
running, boxing, the pankration (an all-out combination of boxing, wrestling,
and kicking in which no holds were barred except for biting and gouging), and
the pentathlon (which included running, long-jumping, throwing the discus,
throwing the javelin, and wrestling.”
The author of Hebrews
was signaling to his audience that this was walk day in the park.
The Christian life was like one of those agonizing endurance
races. In order for them to finish they needed to prepare
properly, run correctly, endure, and finish strong. Otherwise they
would grow weary and not finish the race.
The first thing that
they would need is the proper motivation. This could be
done. To live a life of faith without quitting and throwing in the
towel had already been done. The stadium was filled with those
that had already run and completed the race. They are there,
figuratively cheering us on and motivating us to not only start our lives of
faith but to finish. This will help at those times when we start
to wonder if the path is too difficult and we begin to contemplate giving
up.
The next thing that
we need is to warm-up properly. Before a long-distance race now
days runners drop all of their gear off in little bags before they even start
the race. You don’t want anything you don’t need. I
once had a friend who insisted on starting a long race with a camel-back water
holder on his back. We tried to tell him that there would be
plenty of liquid stations along the way and that he should drop it off at the
gear check table but he brought it anyway. Soon, he found it to be
cumbersome and heavy and wished that he had not brought it. As
Christians we are to throw off the things that hinder us. These
are often things that weigh us down like past hurts, anxieties, worry,
laziness, procrastination, and the like. We really need
to throw those things off before we start but if we haven’t then we need to
emulate runners who start out a race wearing warm clothing because of chilly
temperatures, only to start shedding those clothes along the route as the
temperatures rise.
But we are also to
throw off the sin that so easily entangles us. These are often
mind-sets like selfishness, greed, the desire to do my own will, pride, the
unwillingness to give up my hyper-individualism, unchecked lust, and many, many
other things. Trying to run the race of faith without casting away
those things that can pull at our hearts is like trying to run a marathon
through a cavalcade of fishing nets. One of them will eventually
trip you up. The reality of these two “warm-up instructions” is
that there are certain things in life that will have to be rejected and
discarded if we are to run effectively.
As we continue on the
race, we have to have an attitude of endurance. Let me ask an
important question. What determines when you stop running a
race? As simple as that sounds, it is vital to know and understand
the answer. Being tired does not determines when we stop
running. A little temporary pain does not determine when we stop
running. For the truly committed, even an injury does not
determine when we stop running. And certainly, growing mentally
weary cannot determine when we stop running. For the true runner,
the finish line is the only thing that determines when we stop. So
it is for those that have entered into the race of a faithful life.
Obstacles cannot deter us and we cannot allow discouragements to diminish
our hope. We must have the conviction that absolutely nothing will
stop us until we reach that finish line. It is only then that we
can let our feet stop moving.
But it takes more
than just endurance. Proper technique is vital as well.
Even great runners, will severely hurt themselves, if not completely ruin
their race, without safe techniques. Hebrews tells us that the
proper technique for the faith runner is to keep our heads up and focused on
Jesus. He, after all, is not only the perfect motivator, but he is
also the author and perfecter of the race. He already ran the
perfect endurance race. He showed us how to go through the most
trying of circumstances, even shameful death on a cross, and to do so because he
kept focused on the joy of completing his race. In so doing he
made the life of the New Creation available to us, and then sat down at the
right hand of God. If we take our eyes off of him we will veer off
course. He is the pioneer or trailblazer of our faith (Heb.
2:10). Not only did he finish the race and beckon us to follow him
but he cut the only path that will lead us to the finish line.
Believe me, there are few things worse in a long-distance race than to
realize that you have taken a wrong turn and gone off of the proper path.
We must keep our concentration and gaze fixed upon Jesus.
Many runners in long-distance races will
put on headphones and listen to music to keep their minds off of the agony of
the race. As faith runners we are urged to set our minds on what
Jesus endured for us. In so doing, we will take our minds off of
our own aches and pains and realize, in the course of events, that we have
probably not endured anything even close to what Jesus endured for us.
He kept his eye on the joy of the Father and as we focus on that it will
keep us focused on the joy of our Lord and Savior.
As you run the course
marked out before us in faith, always get ready properly by throwing off all
that could hinder or entangle you. Keep running with perseverance,
knowing that at some point it is going to get painful. There’s no
way around that. It just simply is that way and knowing it and
accepting it now is invaluable. The pain will come but we can
endure. If you keep your eyes focused on Jesus and not on yourself
you will finish the race. After all, there is a stadium full of
those who have already done it, and they are cheering you on.
Devotional
Thought
Are you trying to run
this endurance race of faith with things that hinder and entangle you?
What mindsets or unnecessary attitudes are you caring with you that you
need to drop or change? What sin have you been dragging along that
you need to throw to the side? How can you stay focused on Jesus
through this race and how will that help you to finish strong?
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