Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood
I have never run a marathon but I have been on long charity bicycle rides where my legs suddenly said, we’re done here. At that point, finishing would be foolish, which is what I did, injuring my knee. The author of Hebrews presented a long distance running analogy in verse 1. He called for endurance for these Jewish Christians who were beginning to feel the heat of persecution and may have wanted to stop running or dismount. He called on the ultimate victor, Jesus Christ, who was mocked and spit on, yet never quit, right to the finish line on Golgotha. His example would come to mind for these struggling believers and increase their resistance to despair and temptation. They would win the race if they ran with Jesus.
It is the same for us, yet the pain of persecution has not yet begun. The pain and sorrows of everyday life, however, have become an obstacle for our stride and hampered our endurance. Illness ravages our physical body and our mind as we tire of being tired. Financial worries encroach on our faith in the provision of God for our basic needs as we set our eyes on what we desire, not need. Just the long slow slog that is life is enough some days to make us want to go to bed early and call it a day. Consider Jesus instead.
Dear Lord, thank you that we can run the race when we keep our eyes on you in front of us. Help us to let you win it for us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church