The National Football League playoffs have begun and the crowds are back in full force. The faithful cheer on their team with great fervor, wearing the team colors and waving team towels. When a player makes a mistake, the crowd groans in disappointment. When a player performs well, the crowd stands and cheers. At the end of the game, the crowd rejoices wildly or weeps loudly.
We have heard it said that life is like an athletic contest. Life, however is more a marathon race than a three hour game. We will have fumbles and misplays occasionally, but, hopefully we will run consistently well.
The Bible has some words to say about the marathon race of life. Hebrew 12:1-2 says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us 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 perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
God, the angels, and saints are in the stadium, watching us and cheering us on as we run the race of life. They witness our misplays, or sins. They also see our heroic and selfless deeds. In both cases, they cheer for us, encouraging us to keep moving forward. To run effectively we need to take off the things that slow us down or trip us up. Keeping our eyes on Jesus makes us run toward the finish line in the path of righteousness.
So it behooves each of us to run the race of life as if to win. Let’s put aside sin, be clothed in the righteousness of Jesus, and continue to look at Jesus.
Reluctant Retiree 