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I am starting my blog, with a "greatest hits" post. This was actually from about 2 years ago. I swear there will be new content, soon. I just wanted to get something on the screen...
Hebrews 12:1-2 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, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfector of our faith
So I’ve been reading a book that my daughter recommended to me, “Jesus>Religion”, and in it, the author talks about sin, and the race, described in Hebrews 12 . He says, that we will limp across the finish line. That all of our sin clings to us, and tries to weigh us down, but that there is victory in Jesus.
So this has, obviously (at least to me, anyway) made me think of my most recent summer, and the obstacle races that our family has done. These are a new trend, and I have a love/hate feeling about them. You see, I’m not a runner, but I am able to push myself in other ways. It puts me on the field, as while I cannot run, these “races “ aren’t always about time, they are about being challenged, and meeting that challenge.
So, my first race was the “Warrior Dash”. That was fun. It was a 5K (3-ish miles), with some obstacles. Belly crawl through mud, under barbed wire. Climb over a wall. Walk balance beams, while ice cold water is being poured on you. Leaping fire. You know, stuff like that. My only issue with it, really, was the 5K, in-between the obstacles. I could have just had them line up obstacle after obstacle, all within a half mile or so, and good with that. That would’ve been great. Don’t get me wrong, the 5K wasn’t an issue, it was that we would do an obstacle, and then you would have to wait a half mile for another one, etc.
The second race (for me) was the “Tough Mudder”. That one, I simultaneously regret and long to do again. It was hard. It was long (over 11 miles..If you add in the half mile from the parking lot to the start line, and the half mile from the finish to the parking lot, I pretty much did a half marathon that day). Take all the obstacles from the Warrior Dash, and add electricity, climbing muddy hills, high dive, a swim through ice water, carrying logs and carrying other racers.
One thing that was incredible about both of the races, was the camaraderie. Constant encouragement. Even if I was being passed by a faster runner (which happened a lot), they would say something encouraging as they passed: “Keep going! You’re doing great! Etc.” And if someone went down, someone was always there to pull that person back up. There were times during the tough mudder, when my knee was killing me, and I had to sit for a few minutes. As people passed, they asked if I was ok, or if I needed help or anything. And when I was climbing out of a muddy pipe, there was a hand stretched out to help pull me up. And then I got the opportunity to turn around and help others out of that pipe, too. And at both races, when we reached that finish line, every one of us was greeted with a hug, congratulations, and respect. Because no matter what happened, or how long it took, we finished the race.
All of this helped to further illustrate, for me, the “race” analogy that Scriptures uses, so often. As we run the race, we run through mud. Our dirty sin clings to us, and weighs us down. We hit obstacles. Some, we barrel through, others we fight and struggle with, and others we just have to go around. Our brothers and sisters are out there, holding out a hand to help when you need it, and you need to be ready to hold a hand out to them, when needed, too. And when we get to that finish line, there will be that great cloud of witnesses to welcome us home.
You see, in my two races, I didn’t run the whole race. I had to go around some of the obstacles. But regardless of all of that, I crossed the finish line. I was limping. I was tired, and I was dirty, but I made it. Often the Christian feels defeated on the race course. We stumble and we fall. But what matters is that we fix our eyes upon the prize, upon the finish line, on Christ Jesus. If we do that, there is no way that we can fail.