"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us..."
Imagine yourself in a running competition against others. Everybody is on the starting line ready to run, and so are you with one exception: you are all tied up, and you can barely hop. This competition would not be fair. Although you might be in perfect shape, there is this impediment that holds you back. In the race we are supposed to run as Christians, this impediment is called "sin".
Every day we get to choose to either live as God wants us to live or to give in to the pleasures of this world, which would stand in the way of doing what God wants us to. Living as the world not only does not have any rewards, but it ties us up to move freely when we want to do what God had planned for us from the beginning. It is up to us to choose every day to stay in the grace set out for us and to rely on God as He helps us in this race. Knowing that we are being watched by others who have run faithfully before us and received the crown, we should take courage and feel secure in the fact that we are being cheered on to finish to the best of our abilities. The feeling of finishing faithfully is much more rewarding than just having completed the race and not receiving anything, and in the end, we will hear the words "Well done".
Imagine yourself in a running competition against others. Everybody is on the starting line ready to run, and so are you with one exception: you are all tied up, and you can barely hop. This competition would not be fair. Although you might be in perfect shape, there is this impediment that holds you back. In the race we are supposed to run as Christians, this impediment is called "sin".
Every day we get to choose to either live as God wants us to live or to give in to the pleasures of this world, which would stand in the way of doing what God wants us to. Living as the world not only does not have any rewards, but it ties us up to move freely when we want to do what God had planned for us from the beginning. It is up to us to choose every day to stay in the grace set out for us and to rely on God as He helps us in this race. Knowing that we are being watched by others who have run faithfully before us and received the crown, we should take courage and feel secure in the fact that we are being cheered on to finish to the best of our abilities. The feeling of finishing faithfully is much more rewarding than just having completed the race and not receiving anything, and in the end, we will hear the words "Well done".