“Therefore, having so vast a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, and throwing off everything that hinders us and especially the sin that so easily entangles us, let us keep running with endurance the race set before us, fixing our attention on Jesus…” — Hebrews 12:1-2 (ISV)
Run with Endurance
Do you want to pick up the pace of your relationship with Christ? The writer of Hebrews throws down a challenge in four phrases:
The race set before us — God has staked out both the race and the goal. It is a lifelong process of becoming more like Jesus.
Throwing off everything that hinders us — Running well requires that we jettison the things that are likely to weigh us down. Serious runners don’t lug their backpacks around the track. Many of the things that weigh us down are not wrong in themselves. It could be relationships that pull us away from God, people who sow doubt in our lives, or activities that disrupt our priorities.
Especially the sin that so easily entangles us — God will point out sin through our conscience and through the Scriptures. When we fail to address sin in our lives, it erodes our spiritual strength and dims our spiritual sight. Therefore, we will stumble.
Keep running with endurance — This race requires endurance. Endurance implies a few things: it will take some effort, it will be more of an obstacle course than an open road, and at times you will want to quit.
Want to walk or run? Stay on track, hang with the pace-setters, and run with endurance.
— Tom Petersburg, Catapult Ministries
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