Articles
In It For the Long Run
In the letter to the Jewish Christians of the first century, the writer of Hebrews urged the brethren time and time again that the New Covenant was far superior to the Old, and that we should “hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Heb. 10:23). After reminding these brethren of the faithful ones of old, he then wrote, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin” (Heb. 12:1-4).
Those words — written to brethren who were considering turning away from following Jesus and going back to following the Old law in hopes it would eliminate the persecutions they had already suffered (Heb. 10:32-34) — are words still worthy of consideration by brethren today, especially when we are faced with multiple incentives to give up, or to compromise. Consider just a few points the writers makes that will help us stand fast.
We Have Numerous Examples of Faithful Ones To Follow. That “so great a cloud of witnesses” is the sum total of those named earlier in Hebrews 11 — individuals who demonstrated great faith, though it probably seemed unreasonable to many in their time. Abraham showed us we can believe in the promises of God, though we may not be able to physically see the end result of our life of faith; Noah showed us we can trust God to deliver us from sin if we act on our faith; how many more individuals in the Bible record could we write about who demonstrated great faith? What about Joshua, Isaiah, Daniel, and Job? What about Esther, Ruth, and even the sinful woman who came to wash the feet of Jesus with her tears in the house of Simon the Pharisee?
And many of us — if not all of us — could probably name people we have known personally throughout our years who lived lives of faithfulness and who inspired us to keep pushing on in the face of difficult times, trials, temptations, or just the daily challenges of life. We are grateful
for those examples, and their exhortations are part of what keep us going when we might otherwise be tempted to give up or compromise. When the world tries to tell you "It can't be done" or "It's too hard" to live as a faithful disciple, remember those who have already done it, and know this: you “can do all things through Christ who strengthens” you (Phil. 4:13).
This Is A Marathon, Not A Sprint Race. The writer's admonition was clear: “let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” While we might be tempted to go all out for the Lord in spurts or for just a short time, the Lord is more interested in us finishing. Yes, we must run to the best of our ability, but knowing that this “race” is for the rest of our earthly lives, we must work on our endurance, more than in just looking good for one lap. This same writer had urged these same brethren earlier, “you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise” (Heb. 10:36).
As with a marathon runner, success comes not by sprinting for 100 meters at a time, but by setting a good pace and being able to hold up mile after mile; disciples must not run hard and then take frequent breaks, but keep a steady pace throughout life. And, like a marathon runner, endurance is not something that comes overnight; this must be built up over time and much practice. James reminds us, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (Jas. 1:2, NASB). It is when our faith is tried and tested that we will gain that much-needed endurance, and will progressively increase our abilities to face those trials and tests — until we finish.
The accomplished runner also knows that training is an important part of his efforts, and not just showing up on race day. To be a successful runner in this important race, I must, as Paul wrote, “discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (1 Cor. 9:27) so I can “Run in such a way that [I] may obtain it” (1 Cor. 9: 24). Only when we have trained properly [in God's word] and only when we run that race until the end can we say, as did Paul, “I have finished the race, I have kept the faith…there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness” (2 Tim. 4:7, 8). Run, but run with endurance so you, too, may receive the prize.
Focus Is The Key. The writer of Hebrews also exhorts these brethren [who had already faced persecution for their faith] to be “fixing our eyes on Jesus” (Heb. 12:2, NASB), and later admonished them, “You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin” Heb. 12:4). Yes, they had suffered persecutions and trials because of their faith, but they had not suffered to the extent their Savior, Jesus, had suffered. They were still alive!
And since they still lived, they could still “run with endurance the race” set before them. Instead of focusing on those trials and hardships, they needed to look at Jesus and see that He ran that race to the end, and was rewarded by God, who “has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name” (Phil. 2:9). The fact was [and is], Jesus ran that race and He finished the race. he reached the finish line and is now in heaven, where we strive to attain. Instead of focusing on the hardships of a faithful life, we should “seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God” (Col. 3:1). Focus, again, is the key. If we dwell on how hard this life may be, we will soon forget the reward that awaits us if we finish the race. If we wallow in our troubles, we will miss out on the joy we could have by thinking about the mansions prepared for the faithful (John 14:2).
The world has many things that distract us, and it is for this reason the writer of Hebrews admonished the early disciples to “lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us”; the Greek word translated as “lay aside” is more correctly understood as "throw off, be done with" [UBS Dictionary], and infers a need to do so with great urgency. Anything that hinders us from running this race, or even running effectively, should be put away from us because it will make the difference between merely being in the race, and running to win the prize.
This race is one we all run, and whether we run to win the prize, or are merely sitting in the stands just watching life pass us by, there will be an awards ceremony, of sorts, in the end. Those who endure until the end know that there is a great reward awaiting; those who run in spurts but have no interest in giving their all will miss out, as will those who don't bother to run at all.
Are you in the race? Are you in it for the long run? Run to win! —— Steven Harper
