RUN THE RACE
"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. . . . These [the ancients] were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. 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, 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." Hebrews 11:1-2, 39-40, 12:1-2
What do I want for this new year? What do you want? It seems that social media is filled with wishes for more success, more happiness, more prosperity and "perfectness" in life. Is that what we want? If I were to focus on my life right now, I guess that might be. But I think that as a Church we are losing the long view, the idea that there is much, much more to living than simply getting through this next year. There are rewards far greater than peace in the moment, happiness in the year, growing success over a career. There is, for each Christian, the RACE.
Think about a runner in a race, particularly long races, marathons and the like. Marathons are often run on regular roads and trails. During those races, the runners aren’t always surrounded by the crowds in the stadiums, but are surrounded more by the incidentals and objects of daily life. They run past mail boxes, homes, and schools. They run past cars and strollers and bikes. They run past the old and the young, the sad and the happy, the idle and the hard-working. They run on city streets and country roads. The one constant in the race of a runner is that . . . they RUN. They don’t stop. They run.
As Christians, we often forget about the RACE. A runner sees so many things during a race. So many distractions. They could stop running at each and every one. But the minute they stop running, they emotionally and physically begin to pull themselves out of the race. They begin to wonder whether or not it’s worth finishing to the goal. They begin to lose.
As Christians, we are called to run the RACE with perseverance. And this RACE has several characteristics: 1) It is a RACE for which we will not see the fulfillment of the promise until we reach Heaven; 2) It is a RACE in which the end of the RACE will occur only as we collectively as the People of God gather before His Throne; 3) It is a RACE that requires we throw off everything that hinders us, sin which always entangles and everything else that impedes our perseverance; and 4) It is a RACE where we are required to run even though we can’t see the goal. We run with faith!
In 2017, perhaps rather than wishing or hoping that our lives get better or happier or more prosperous, we should be longing that we gain perseverance for the long haul so that we can continue to run the RACE that our Lord has set before us. If we want to be commended before the Throne, this year, we need to RUN THE RACE!
"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. . . . These [the ancients] were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. 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, 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." Hebrews 11:1-2, 39-40, 12:1-2
What do I want for this new year? What do you want? It seems that social media is filled with wishes for more success, more happiness, more prosperity and "perfectness" in life. Is that what we want? If I were to focus on my life right now, I guess that might be. But I think that as a Church we are losing the long view, the idea that there is much, much more to living than simply getting through this next year. There are rewards far greater than peace in the moment, happiness in the year, growing success over a career. There is, for each Christian, the RACE.
Think about a runner in a race, particularly long races, marathons and the like. Marathons are often run on regular roads and trails. During those races, the runners aren’t always surrounded by the crowds in the stadiums, but are surrounded more by the incidentals and objects of daily life. They run past mail boxes, homes, and schools. They run past cars and strollers and bikes. They run past the old and the young, the sad and the happy, the idle and the hard-working. They run on city streets and country roads. The one constant in the race of a runner is that . . . they RUN. They don’t stop. They run.
As Christians, we often forget about the RACE. A runner sees so many things during a race. So many distractions. They could stop running at each and every one. But the minute they stop running, they emotionally and physically begin to pull themselves out of the race. They begin to wonder whether or not it’s worth finishing to the goal. They begin to lose.
As Christians, we are called to run the RACE with perseverance. And this RACE has several characteristics: 1) It is a RACE for which we will not see the fulfillment of the promise until we reach Heaven; 2) It is a RACE in which the end of the RACE will occur only as we collectively as the People of God gather before His Throne; 3) It is a RACE that requires we throw off everything that hinders us, sin which always entangles and everything else that impedes our perseverance; and 4) It is a RACE where we are required to run even though we can’t see the goal. We run with faith!
In 2017, perhaps rather than wishing or hoping that our lives get better or happier or more prosperous, we should be longing that we gain perseverance for the long haul so that we can continue to run the RACE that our Lord has set before us. If we want to be commended before the Throne, this year, we need to RUN THE RACE!
© 2017 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.
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