Run The Race - Part 2

In my last blog post I started going through one of my favourite Bible passages, Hebrews 12:1-3.  In that post I talked about the first part of the passage and the importance of throwing off “everything that entangles” so that we can be free to live. This leads to the next section where the writer encourages us to "run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith" (Hebrews 12:1b-2a).  What does this mean?  It means we need to live our lives with determination.  It means we need to follow the path that God has laid out for us with discipline.  The Bible tells us that God has plans for us which give us hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11); it also says that God works through everything for our good (Romans 8:28), meaning that we can be assured that if we follow God, He will lead us to good places, even though things may get tough at times.  I also believe that running the race means we need to be holistic in our approach to life.  It's no good focussing on one area exclusively at the expense of everything else, there has to be a balance.  A successful athlete does not just focus on one aspect of training, they train everything.  They work on strength, cardiovascular fitness, endurance and mental toughness.  They concentrate on their diet and nutrition.  They do everything they can to be the best they can be so when it comes time to compete they are ready. 

For me that's exactly what running the race means.  It means training and trying to be the best I can be in every area of my life.  In order to run the race that God has for me, I need to look after my physical health.  If I neglect that, it reduces my ability to impact others because I am not at my best. I'm not saying we have to be super fit or healthy to serve God, but we have a responsibility to maintain our physical selves as best we can. The Bible tells us that as Christians, our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19), which gives us even more impetus to look after them.  I don't know about you, but I don't want my temple to be full of junk.  We need to exercise regularly and eat healthily.  And for me I don't just want to get by.  I want to be the best I can be.  I want to run the race, not walk it.  I want to get fitter and stronger every day.  I want to do things better each new day than I did the day before.  And I believe this is what God has for us.  John 10:10 tells us that Jesus came so we could have "life more abundantly".  This means not just a ho-hum life of getting by, but a life of abundance and fullness.

Similarly I need to train myself mentally and spiritually.  I need to discipline myself to spend time in the Bible and in prayer.  I need to make sure that the things I am watching and listening to don't fill my head or heart with rubbish.  The verse also tells us to run with perseverance.  Life is a marathon, not a sprint.  We need to make a daily decision to stay focussed on our goals and be strong in what we do, and to keep going through tough times.  We can't give up just because we get tired or face a challenge.  It is important to keep pushing through.  It is when we tackle these challenges and push through the difficulties that we see the greatest victories and get the greatest satisfaction.

And how do we keep the motivation to keep going?  By “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith".  Jesus faced massive challenges and trials, he was opposed every step of the way, yet he kept going and kept living and loving all those around him.  Even on the cross he never stopped loving, he welcomed the thief (Luke 23:43) and asked God to forgive those who had crucified him (Luke 23:34).  What an example!  When we face difficulties we can look to Jesus knowing that he knows what we are going through and that in him we are “more than conquerors” (Romans 8:37).  We know that he is the one who has set the path for us to follow, so we can be assured that if we keep our eyes on him, staying focussed on our goals, he will always help us through.