“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Hebrews 12:1-2 [KJV]
Brown Hill Creek National Park
Some years ago, while out hiking, my four-year-old sister found a large chunk of sparkly mica rock. She put the ‘beautiful glitter rock’ in her little pink backpack, and puffed and panted several kilometres back to the car. Back at the car, however, she decided the rock was not worth keeping, and left it behind. But by then, she was exhausted, having wasted so much energy carrying a worthless, heavy burden.
My sister carried that rock several kilometres, but some of us spend years carrying heavy weights that hinder our progress as we run the Christian race. Hebrews 12:1, tells us, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”
When we talk about running races, we usually think of a flat, Olympic style sprint track with carefully marked lines. But the Christian life is a cross-country marathon. It begins the day we put our faith in Jesus Christ to save us, and ends with eternity. Along the course, we encounter many obstacles, from traps created by the wicked (Psalm 119:110), the slippery slopes of sin (1 Corinthians 10:12), oceans of doubt (James 1:6), a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8), and trouble on every side (2 Corinthians 4:8). Even the most mature Christian will sometimes feel daunted, but the Holy Spirit is our guide, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Romans 8:14). God’s great mercy means all Christians will never have those three horrid letters DNF, Did Not Finish, after their names, but the letters we do not want to see on the scorecard are DNRW, Did Not Run Well.
How can we run well? Hebrews 12:1 tells us to consider the examples of others who followed God. The previous chapter lists many, both named and unnamed, who “obtained a good report through faith,” (Hebrews 11:39). Some of those who were faithful despite cruel persecutions were contemporaries of the writer, and Proverbs 27:17b tells us, “A man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” We can learn much from faithful Christian co-runners, but also from those who have already finished their race.
Neither of the two women named in Hebrews 11 started well. Sara was so desperate to have a child she encouraged her husband to sin, and Rahab was a prostitute. But Hebrews 11 records, “Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised,” (v11), and “By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace” (v31). Be encouraged. Both accounts remind us of both God’s merciful forgiveness and the restoration possible by faith. If you have gone off track, remember 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Sin hinders us from running well. As Christians we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to not sin. Romans 6:1-2 says, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” To run well, we must confess and forsake sin because we were saved from it and sin grieves the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30).
But the verse also tells us to lay aside weights. Sometimes we think life’s difficulties hamper our Christian growth. A busy mother might say that family responsibilities are reducing the time she spends reading the Bible. Another might say, if I didn’t have this disability or illness, I would grow more because I would be able to attend more church activities. Or I can’t give beyond my tithing because of my financial difficulties. Now what? Just because something is difficult and taking much of our focus does not necessarily mean that is a weight to be laid aside. A mother cannot be rid of her children. Throwing away your spectacles will not cure your eyesight, and denying your financial difficulties will not pay the bills.
A weight therefore, is something that takes our focus off God and can be laid aside. A particular hobby might not be sinful, but it might consume too much time and money. Your dream to serve God in a particular way might be God’s will for someone else but not necessarily his will for you. Focusing on what we want grieves God and ultimately us too. That lump of mica rock might currently glitter like gold, but it will soon be exposed as a worthless counterfeit. But when we run God’s race, with His guide, then we will know the reality of Psalm 84:11, “For the LORD God is a sun and shield: The LORD will give grace and glory: No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.”
Run with patience. My mother has often quoted Ruth 3:18b to me, “Sit still my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall.” But I remain prone to impatience. Yet the Christian life is an endurance event, with many struggles against our own fleshly tendencies. “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible” (1 Corinthians 9:24-25).
Look unto Jesus. Keep your eyes straight ahead, focused on knowing God and deepening your relationship with Him. Jesus is the author– the originator, creator– of our faith, and the finisher–the completer, perfector–of our faith. We run for Him, and by His grace, knowing the truth of Jesus’ words, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5).
Keep running. One day soon we will reach the finish line. May that be the day we hear the Lord say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant… enter thou into the joy of thy Lord” (Matthew 25:21).
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