The Race
Pastor Justin Dean
I have been described as many things in my life, but a long-distance runner has never been one of them. I can run, and I would say I am decently fast, as long as I do not have to run farther than the distance my couch is from the fridge. No quote has better embodied my running style than Gimli the Dwarf’s quote from “The Lord of the Rings,” “I’m wasted on cross-country. We Dwarves are natural sprinters. Very dangerous over short distances.” My biggest fault is that I always run out of stamina. I start off well, but any serious distance ends in me walking and eventually cramping.
My current running situation is very similar to John’s diagnosis of the current situation of the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2:5-7, “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.”
The problem was the church of Ephesus started their race well, but they were struggling to continue running. They had begun to fall off, to become complacent, and they were being warned that this would be their downfall. Unless they repented (turned to God) they would be left to their own apathy.
Like it or not, for many believers, our own spiritual race is run in a similar way. We start our relationship with Jesus on fire, sprinting down the spiritual track. Unfortunately, we lack spiritual stamina, and like the church of Ephesus, eventually, we quickly run out of energy and begin to fall off. Too often, we get distracted by the world and return to our old, pre-Jesus habits. So how are we supposed to keep our stamina up? How can we continue to run with similar vigor and passion as when we began our relationship with Christ? The writer of Hebrews answers this very question. Hebrews 12:1 (NIV) says, “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.”
Throughout our journey as believers, we tend to burden ourselves with plenty of things. Sinful habits, shame, and religiosity are just some of the things that we allow to weigh us down. Running is hard enough, but having to run it with ankle weights, jeans, and a winter coat sounds impossible to me. When we allow our flesh to creep in, and we do not regularly refocus and unload all that burdens us, we end up spiritually overheated and cramping.
I would encourage you to spend some time writing down a list of things that you feel make it difficult for you to focus on Jesus. What makes you stressed, exhausted, or bitter? Are you trying to carry them on your own? What would it be like to offload some of the things weighing you down to a godly friend or mentor, or better yet, Christ? Why? Spend some time praying and asking God to show you some of the things that you need to throw off.