Setting the pace

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. (Hebrews 12:1-2 NLT)

If you are reading this passage for the hundredth time, it is still possible God will bring to light something that 'hits home' with you, isn't it? Therefore - because of the finished work of the Cross. Since we are surrounded - there are both good examples of our faith and those we can learn from because they did stuff we do. Let us strip off every weight - there are more things that slow us down in our faith journey than there are things that seem to be encouraging us to move forward. It takes a conscious effort to see the things that encourage us to move on and then neglect to pay attention to those things that want to weigh us down, keeping us rooted in our self-focus and sinful deeds.

Let us run - not with a flimsy commitment to the truths we are being taught, or a lackadaisical attitude toward the things Jesus tells us to do that will help us be free from sin's tug in our lives. We are to run with endurance. Every runner will tell you that the pace is important if you want to finish the race. Too fast of a start wears you out sooner. Too slow of a pace means you have to really turn it on toward the finish of the race. The right pace sets you up to not only finish the race, but to endure the hardships of the race. The body will tire in the race - doing things that increase one's endurance is a key to a runner's success. In our spiritual race, endurance matters equally as much. We aren't going to do well if we start out gung-ho and then peter out somewhere just a short distance ahead!

How do we endure the race? We set our eyes - fixed on Jesus, we see no other goal, have no other purpose. He shows us how to 'run' the race as much as he reveals the things we need to do to 'endure' the race. The focus part is up to us. We keep our gaze fixed on him. There is a mindset that is required in order to maintain focus, isn't there? We have to 'block' some thinking that interferes with us seeing Christ. We have to 'incorporate' other things that help us to maintain that focus. The things we 'put off' are equally as important as the things we 'put on' to run the race. We put off laziness and take on determined obedience. We put off an empty spirit and allow Christ to fill our spirit with his presence.

The race isn't ever going to be easy. The more we focus on Christ alone and his purposes for our lives, the more we can count on our endurance to run. We are 'bolstered' in our faith, giving us the right 'pace' and helping us to focus less on the distractions of the race and more on finishing the race well. Just sayin!