Reference Passage:
Hebrews 12:1 (New Living Translation)
"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."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Heavenly call upon human existence is to live life like a race, overcoming every obstacle along the way and focusing on the only goal worth aiming for – the intimate presence of the Almighty Creator. Our first step in answering this call is to leave the gallery and commentary box, where we may have been perched for years, despite counting ourselves as members of a rapture-ready Church. It is easy for an onlooker to comment on every aspect of the game, and even sound like an expert, without ever feeling the heat in the arena.
Recall our current condition – wildly and worldly ambitious, bored with God, ignorant of Scripture, uncomfortable with the Gospel, indifferent to the pain of our fellow human beings. Each of these traits, and many others like them, is weighing us down and making our spirituality a clumsy on-off love affair. We have little idea where all this emotional baggage came from. Now that its time to fly home, here we are, still unwilling to lighten up and run. The truth is that many of the gems we hold dearer than God for the moment, end up on some shelf in the shadows before long, never to see the light again. Sadly yet rightly, the time that is wasted on these vainglorious pursuits can never be regained.
While the Christian runner has to shed such a lot of weight to get in shape, he still faces the daunting task of outsmarting the traps that lie along the way. In appearance, they are harmless and in some cases, carry the promise of helping you reach your target faster. However, they pack quite a punch and can easily knock out our winning dreams for life. Sin often comes with the promise of security, which makes it more convincing. Lust sometimes wears love as a wrapper, as does indolence with ingenuity. Selfishness and ego can masquerade as freewheeling independence, but may the discerning believer see the tentacles beneath the robe of light.
The world of spirituality is continually witness to the phenomenal rise of individuals and enterprises, in the name of religion, all over the globe. However, it doesn't take long for the brouhaha to die down and fade away into oblivion. Many of our own grand ideas had us brimming with confidence that our vision would easily be fulfilled, but we're huffing and puffing already. Nothing that we try, seems to work, and what we initially thought was Formula 1, now looks like a turtle race.
The Christian life, as clearly portrayed in the Bible, needs endurance in plenty to reach the finish line. We must continue what God has called us to do, when the initial enthusiasm and 'big talk' begin to dry up. At times, it'll be stiff opposition from insiders, that we have to endure. Surely, this race is a tough one! It's wiser to stop trying to burn ourselves out in a short time. Why fret over all those missed opportunities that we thought would take us to the pinnacle of glory? Would it not be better to learn with humility, beneath God's mighty hand, until the 'right' time to be exalted, is come?
Think about this : if everyone were guaranteed a prize, no one would run. There are conditions laid down, which is why this is a race 'set before us'. Sometimes, little children attempt to bargain with their parents whenever pushed to do something new or uncomfortable, like swallowing a spoonful of gooey syrup. “Will you give me anything?”, they ask wide-eyed. (The experienced father duly responds with lip service. Obviously, the old fox is relying on the fact that his child will soon forget the extravagant promise.)
In like fashion, we seem to have forgotten what our race is all about, and settled for bargaining along the way. We find the trail blazed already by our Lord, an uncomfortable one to take. However, over the centuries, every necessary tool has been made available to fulfill our vocation. The Bible itself is a remarkable monument to God's grace manifesting itself in the unlikeliest conditions. Yet, strangely, we have made little progress in proportion to all that God has done. So, we chart our own plans, and propose alternate routes, that we think will lead us to the same finish line. An ever-increasing dependence on technology (with little spiritual fruit in return) is just one example of this. Believe it or not, only one route takes you to God's prize, while every other course leads elsewhere. One thing that 'liberty in Christ' does not mean, is the freedom to design our own track.
It all comes down to asking what time means to us. Is it merely the aimless aggregate of instances measured in seconds, minutes and hours? Time is a defining element of the race, as it decides between competitors on the basis of how well it is used. In other words, running life like a race is determined by the way our time is employed. The constraints of time urge us to press onward and push our limits, gradually shaping our character into a spiritually fit persona – the kind that would find itself at home with God in Eternity.
Recall our current condition – wildly and worldly ambitious, bored with God, ignorant of Scripture, uncomfortable with the Gospel, indifferent to the pain of our fellow human beings. Each of these traits, and many others like them, is weighing us down and making our spirituality a clumsy on-off love affair. We have little idea where all this emotional baggage came from. Now that its time to fly home, here we are, still unwilling to lighten up and run. The truth is that many of the gems we hold dearer than God for the moment, end up on some shelf in the shadows before long, never to see the light again. Sadly yet rightly, the time that is wasted on these vainglorious pursuits can never be regained.
While the Christian runner has to shed such a lot of weight to get in shape, he still faces the daunting task of outsmarting the traps that lie along the way. In appearance, they are harmless and in some cases, carry the promise of helping you reach your target faster. However, they pack quite a punch and can easily knock out our winning dreams for life. Sin often comes with the promise of security, which makes it more convincing. Lust sometimes wears love as a wrapper, as does indolence with ingenuity. Selfishness and ego can masquerade as freewheeling independence, but may the discerning believer see the tentacles beneath the robe of light.
The world of spirituality is continually witness to the phenomenal rise of individuals and enterprises, in the name of religion, all over the globe. However, it doesn't take long for the brouhaha to die down and fade away into oblivion. Many of our own grand ideas had us brimming with confidence that our vision would easily be fulfilled, but we're huffing and puffing already. Nothing that we try, seems to work, and what we initially thought was Formula 1, now looks like a turtle race.
The Christian life, as clearly portrayed in the Bible, needs endurance in plenty to reach the finish line. We must continue what God has called us to do, when the initial enthusiasm and 'big talk' begin to dry up. At times, it'll be stiff opposition from insiders, that we have to endure. Surely, this race is a tough one! It's wiser to stop trying to burn ourselves out in a short time. Why fret over all those missed opportunities that we thought would take us to the pinnacle of glory? Would it not be better to learn with humility, beneath God's mighty hand, until the 'right' time to be exalted, is come?
Think about this : if everyone were guaranteed a prize, no one would run. There are conditions laid down, which is why this is a race 'set before us'. Sometimes, little children attempt to bargain with their parents whenever pushed to do something new or uncomfortable, like swallowing a spoonful of gooey syrup. “Will you give me anything?”, they ask wide-eyed. (The experienced father duly responds with lip service. Obviously, the old fox is relying on the fact that his child will soon forget the extravagant promise.)
In like fashion, we seem to have forgotten what our race is all about, and settled for bargaining along the way. We find the trail blazed already by our Lord, an uncomfortable one to take. However, over the centuries, every necessary tool has been made available to fulfill our vocation. The Bible itself is a remarkable monument to God's grace manifesting itself in the unlikeliest conditions. Yet, strangely, we have made little progress in proportion to all that God has done. So, we chart our own plans, and propose alternate routes, that we think will lead us to the same finish line. An ever-increasing dependence on technology (with little spiritual fruit in return) is just one example of this. Believe it or not, only one route takes you to God's prize, while every other course leads elsewhere. One thing that 'liberty in Christ' does not mean, is the freedom to design our own track.
It all comes down to asking what time means to us. Is it merely the aimless aggregate of instances measured in seconds, minutes and hours? Time is a defining element of the race, as it decides between competitors on the basis of how well it is used. In other words, running life like a race is determined by the way our time is employed. The constraints of time urge us to press onward and push our limits, gradually shaping our character into a spiritually fit persona – the kind that would find itself at home with God in Eternity.
