LEARNING DAILY

 

Hebrews 12:1, 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 hinders our progress.  And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. (NLT)

 

I have been giving some thought “to the race God has set before us”.  In doing so I thought back to the races I have participated in.  Never really thinking I wanted to run long distances, I elected to run the sprint races when I was younger.  They were over more quickly.  Then Charlotte started doing 5k (3.1 miles) races where she would speed walk.  It took time but I began to run with my daughter Melissa and eventually her husband Joey. We ran 5ks, 10ks (6.2 miles) and even ran five or six half marathons (13.1 miles).  Joey even did a full marathon (26.2 miles).  I found the running to be enjoyable because I could spend time with them; but it was hard work.  The reward was knowing we had accomplished the goal when crossing the finish line.

 

Melissa and I ran in the first Rock n’ Roll Marathon in San Antonio.  It was fun running when so many people lined the street and cheered us on.  Can I use my “sanctified imagination”?  It was like a “huge crowd of witnesses”!  To reach the goal, crossing the finish line, we had to train.  It took us an amount of endurance to go up some of the hills and to persevere through the fatigue.  We encouraged each other when the temptation to walk set it in – mostly Melissa encouraged me.

 

The writer of Hebrews encourages us “to run the race (on the narrow way) that God has set before us”.  In other words, we are to live our lives in a way that God desires us to live it.  One thing I know for sure.  If I had been selecting the course for the half or full marathon, I would have selected a course that was on flat ground with no rocks, gravel or hills of any kind.  However, we had to run the course that was laid out for us.  It is the same with the life set before us.  God chooses the course for us.  There are hills to go up, valleys to run through, some times rain and other times too much sun.  Whatever the course causes to run through, God expects us to run in faith, endurance, commitment, and to be disciplined.  We stay on the course, never quitting regardless of the trials we face and we run for the Lord Jesus Christ.  Hebrews 12:2 tells us what to do when we run the race, “we keep our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish.”  He becomes our example of trusting God and our commitment to finish the race.  Jesus is our example for finishing the race (completing the will of the Father) and receiving the joy of heaven that waits for each of us. 

 

Completion of the race will require dedication to reading and studying the Bible, prayer, and getting rid of everything that would threaten our relationship to God.  Cleanse yourself of any behavior that God does not approve of.  Each of us knows what that is for ourselves.  The prize at the end of the race is well worth the training you and I put in to finish the race – God’s kingdom and eternal life with Him .  Never never give up!  Enjoy every moment of “the race God has set before” you.