Running the Race

Hebrews 12:1-4 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.”

When on vacation, it can be enjoyable to go for jogs in the morning whether that be through mountains or charming little towns. As I run and see something catch my eye, I’ll stop to take a picture to remember it by and share it with my family later. After a few moments, I’ll resume the run only to stop again for another picturesque distraction. Then as I look at the phone I see I have new messages, new emails, breaking news alerts, and then I find myself opening them, reading them, responding to them, sharing them, and minute after minute passes by and I’m not running. Several minutes pass by, my heart rate has dropped to a resting rate, and then I realize I need to be getting on with the run.

While running the marathon of our faith, it’s so easy to stop running and get distracted. Maybe something catches our eye, entices us to stop for a while, or preoccupy ourselves with something other than the race. Before you know it, you’ve wasted an hour, a day, a week, a month, or even longer and you realize you aren’t where you wish to be spiritually. How did I get here? How do I start running the race again?

We are encouraged by a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us of those who have gone before us, who have run the race, and who know our struggle in this life. We are encouraged to lay aside every weight that hinders us from running the race towards Christ. We are told to lay aside sin which tries to cling closely to us and hinder our progress.

Let us look to Christ as the founder and perfecter of our faith. Let us run with our eyes on the finish line rather than on the distractions around us. Let us challenge ourselves to be vigilant in our faith each day to see what is holding us back from drawing closer to Christ.

One such way we can do this is to ask ourselves “on a daily basis: ‘Where or how have I gone wrong, in what way have I failed, or what should I have done or not done?’ and then act accordingly.”¹ Each day we can be reflecting on how we’ve run the race, what we could have done better, and then take the appropriate steps to make incremental changes day after day. It will be a constant process of reflecting on how we could have done better and trying to do better the next day.

While running through mountains trails, I have fallen before and taken some tough scrapes to the hands and knees. But I couldn’t stay there on the ground, I had to get up and keep running home. If we fall in the race of our faith, we shouldn’t stay down, but we need to get back up, refocus, and run home to the Lord.

1. Nektarios, St. (2020). Habitation of Holiness. Newrome Press.