The Race Set Before Us

I was pretty good at running when I was in high school.  I wasn’t track-team quality, but I was better than anyone in my gym class.  One time I ran a 440-yard (1/4-mile) race in exactly 60 seconds.  If I could have run three more laps, I would have run a 4-minute mile.  The trouble is, I collapsed at the end of one lap and threw up. 

The Apostle Paul talks about a race in Hebrews: 

Heb 12:1 – 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. 

In Paul’s race, there are witnesses counting on us.  These might include angels who have tirelessly labored for our salvation, unfallen beings on other worlds who have yearned for our victory, Moses, Elijah, and Enoch who with intense interest have followed the course of human history, those resurrected when Jesus was resurrected, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who risked an infinite amount in a venture of love to save us. 

Paul calls upon us to lay aside anything that would hinder our finishing the race.  What things do we hold back that are worth not finishing this race?  Is it secret desires? unholy thoughts? indulgence of appetite and other sensual indulgences? worldly entertainment?  You should finish this list as it pertains to you.  Your job is to identify those potential hindrances in your own life and set aside every hindering weight. 

Paul challenges us to run with endurance.  That means a continuing Christian commitment even in the face of difficulty, no on-off Christian commitment. 

Rev 14:12 – Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. 

Heb 10:36 – For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 

Paul uses the race analogy again in 1 Corinthians: 

1 Cor 9:25-27 – Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. 

Notice his emphasis on self-control and self-discipline.  If we want to finish our race as did Paul, we must be focused, controlling our thoughts and actions.  He says eliminate those things in our lives that distract from the finish line.  Does this sound boring?  The reward from finishing the race is infinite.  The cost of such self-control is temporary.

What does one do to prepare for a marathon?  One builds up one’s overall health with nutrition, vitamins, and abstaining from unhealthful activities.  One might also study the path of the race, build up endurance and strength with exercise and running, work on mental training to overcome the pain.  Is any less effort called for in the run to our finish line?  We should choose daily devotions and prayer, serious Bible study, attendance at church and general support of the body of Christ, practicing self-denial in relations with others, practicing praise of God in human interactions and in hymns. 

Do we give spiritual training at least the equivalent effort as we did in our careers or our pursuit of leisure activities or our seeking of pleasure?  Are we evangelists at work, at the store, on the sidewalk, in the neighborhood?  Is every element of our life dedicated to the race:  waking? dressing? breakfast? work? supper? resting time and recreation? even sleep?  Are our financial resources 100% dedicated to fulfilling God’s plan for us?  What about our homes, our possessions, our talents?  Remember you are not your own; you are bought with a price.  All these things are important aspects of our training and preparation for reaching the finish line. 

In a long race, runners dial up the effort near the end.  In the Christian race over the last 2 millennia, we now find ourselves near the finish line.  We can see it.  So, we, too, need to double our effort.  We are now in the time of proclaiming the 3 Angels’ Messages.  The Loud Cry will begin soon.  Can you see yourself doing this work?  Can you reach the finish line if you don’t?  When will we break away from normal and move on to finish the race?  What could you be doing to change the direction of your life?  What radical change is needed? 

The Great Controversy is so fierce we cannot now take our eyes off the finish line.  Satan is placing all kinds of things in our way to stop us.  We must by the power of the Holy Spirit be overcomers.  God’s truth triumphs in the end, but it is through us.  More importantly it is in us.  We demonstrate to the world that God was right, and Satan was wrong.  It is our privilege to vindicate God in the Great Controversy.  The world today needs a revelation of Jesus in the person of His saints.  God desires that His people shall stand before the world a holy people.  There is a world to be saved by the light of the gospel, and this light is given by the church through the lives of its members.  Will you and I step forward?