“Thanking God for Sustaining Us” Hebrews 12:1-3

Growing up, I was blessed with the ability to run fast. I discovered this when we began having PE in second grade. It was therefore natural that I would be interested in running track.

There are several lessons in running track that apply to life. The apostle Paul was willing to use racing analogies in some of his letters (cf. Acts 20:24; 1 Corinthians 9:24-27; 2 Timothy 4:7) to emphasize that living out our faith required commitment not just to competing but to training and learning and focusing on the goal line.

In today’s passage, the writer uses the analogy of a race to describe our walk with Christ and showing us how God sustains us in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Background

From the text we looked at last week, the writer has shown that Jesus is superior to the sacrificial system of the Old Testament since His crucifixion—His sacrifice—was enough to forgive all sins for all eternity. In light of that, Jesus has given us direct access to the Father (cf. Hebrews 10:19-25).

The writer warns against a willingness to deliberately sin, warning that such an attitude leads to God’s retribution (cf. 10:26-31). The writer concludes Chapter 10 with encouragement and a reminder to stay true to God’s calling in Christ.

To demonstrate what it means to stand true to the calling, the writer includes a chapter on faith, defining faith and giving examples of men and women of faith throughout the Old Testament. He concludes the chapter with, “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect” (11:39-40).

The writer then introduces the idea of running a race before a cloud of witnesses, which leads us to today’s passage.

Central Truth: We thank God because He enables us to run with perseverance.

God sustains us by:

Giving us the ability to throw of hindrances (1)

If we watch the Olympics competitions every four summers, one of the things we will see are the track events. From the sprints to the distance runs of the 1500 and longer up to and including the marathon, two things will become obvious.

The first is the size of the crowds. When there are major track events in the world, the crowds are usually filling the stands, and the spectators are cheering on the various competitors, urging their favorites on. It’s true of any sporting event: the crowd’s reaction to what’s taking place on the field, the court or, in this instance, the track, helps the athlete to elevate their game.

The second is that runners’ equipment is designed to be as light as possible. The uniforms the runners were are made of almost weightless material, and is designed to reduce wind resistance as much as possible. The shoes are also extremely light when compared to other athletic shoes. In my high school days, the shoes were designed with long cleats at the front of the shoes in order to dig into the cinder tracks and give a better traction. Now with synthetic surfaces used on the track, the shoes are designed to grip more securely without tearing up the track. The whole purpose of the track athlete’s garments is to limit the amount of weight the athlete has to carry around the track.

The writer takes into consideration these two elements of the race and reminds us that God through Christ has enabled us to run a race with great supporters and with the least weight possible.

Building on the chapter on faith, the writer reminds us that those who preceded us in faith walks are now sitting in the stands, encouraging us in our race. These witnesses of our race are ones who have already run their races. It’s not that they are interested fans. They are former competitors with an awareness of what it takes to compete and run in the best possible way.

I was listening to an interview with Vince Gill. He was talking about the first time he met Chet Atkins. They talked for a while, then Atkins invited Gill to play a song together. According to Gill, all he could do was watch. He said he wanted to play, but in spite of Atkins’ encouragement, he was in such awe of his childhood hero, a man who was a guitar legend known across musical genres, that Gill said his fingers wouldn’t move on his guitar. Eventually, he was able to play and since then, the two played together numerous times.

It’s the same idea here. We are running a race in front of a crowd who understands what it means to run a race of faith. There are there to encourage and support, and because they are there, we are encouraged to try our best.

As much as the crowd is important in our race, though, we are also encouraged to rid ourselves of the things that can hinder our running our best. “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles” is how the writer puts it in the latter part of the verse. Extra weights hinder the runner, as do baggy clothes and clunky shoes. Things that entangle us hinder our ability to run freely with the flexibility to use our arms and legs effectively and efficiently. The writer understands this, and reminds us that sin in our life prevents us from being at our best in our relationship to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Two other things the writer includes at the end of the verse shows me that the writer was aware of racing and had a long distance race in mind. He reminds us that we have to persevere in the running. Sprints are relatively easy when it comes to racing. The sprinter simply has to wait for the gun, then burst forward with as much energy and speed as he can run. The sprinter usually runs for a relatively short distance, no more than 400 meters or one lap around the track. The distance runners, on the other hand, have to plan out their run, knowing when to use bursts of speed and when to conserve energy while at the same time maintaining a pace that will give them the optimum amount of energy to sprint to the goal line. This is what he means by perseverance. Keep the pace, knowing the run is a long one. Keep putting one foot in front of the other, always moving forward at maximum speed for the full length of the run.

Notice also that he mentions the race that is marked out for us. In cross country racing or marathons, no course is identical to other races. Each course is unique to its terrain. The course is laid out by the planners. In this instance, it is God Himself who lays out the course. He knows ahead of time where the climbs are, where the turns are, when the ground is softer and harder. I also believe the writer is aware that each runner’s course is laid out specifically for that particular runner. No one of us is called on to run a race identical to someone else. Each of us has our own calling, our own relationship with God through Christ. Each of us as the Holy Spirit living in us, guiding us and encouraging us.

Each of us must run our own race with perseverance, unencumbered with the support of the crowd cheering us on. We need to thank God that, through Jesus, He enable us to run without hindrance and to persevere.

Giving us the example of Christ (2-3)

I was running in a 220 yard dash. As a runner, I was usually not the fastest, but I was seldom the slowest. I was usually in the pack, sometimes closer to the front than not. In this one particular race, though, I was matched up against runners that were not able to run faster than I. When the gun went off, I broke from the blocks cleanly and quickly took the lead in the race. There was only one problem.

In those days, when I raced, I ran with my head down, looking at the track directly in front of my feet. Because I seldom led a race, I always knew when the race was over because the guys in front of me would ease up. In this particular race, since I was leading, I couldn’t gauge the finish line. So, when I thought I had run far enough, I eased up and stopped running. The boy closest to me did the same. It was then that I looked up and saw a group of coaches holding the finish line tape. One of the coaches said, “Guys, the finish line is up here.” I immediately took off again, as did my nearest competitor. I did win the heat, but with much chagrin and embarrassment.

If I had kept my eyes on the goal line, I would have finished in a much better time.

The writer reminds us that in our race we need to keep our focus not on the finish line, but on the One we follow—Jesus Christ. He is our example and our guide. That’s why the writer writes, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus.”

• Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith (2)

The writer describes Jesus in a couple of ways. First, He is the author and perfecter of our ways.

Being the author means that Jesus is the One who has created us (cf. John 1:1-3) and our race course, our ways. As the author of our ways, Jesus is the originator of our faith and the One who bestowed the faith upon us. As the perfecter, Jesus is the One who “works in us through His Spirit to will and to act according to His good purpose” (Philippians 2:13). He is the One who is transforming us into His character, and He is the only One who is able to make us holy and show us the way. As the author and perfecter, Jesus is the One not only created the way, but He shows us the way and brings to fruition the work He started in us the moment we first believed.

• Jesus demonstrated how to persevere (3)

As the author and perfecter, Jesus also is our example of what it means to keep running, to persevere in the race. He lived His life knowing that the cross awaited Him. He lived His live knowing that the religious leaders would reject Him and fight Him all the way to the cross. Jesus knew that His life would be hard, that it would end with brutality and cruelty, yet He never wavered from the course set before Him. Not only did Jesus willingly go to the cross, but He saw it for what it was: humanity’s ultimately cruelty and demonstration of sin and depravation, but also the ultimate demonstration of God’s great love and the Son’s great obedience. Jesus scorned the shame of the cross because He knew that the final end would lead to victory over sin and death and return Him to His rightful glory and place. Yes, He knew it would be hard, and He knew that it would take a great commitment to the Father, but He also knew of the reward, and that was why He endured, why He saw the cross and showed it scorn.

Thus the writer tells us that Jesus is the best example we have of how to run the race. Because He endured such opposition from evil men, we know that it can be done. We know not only that it can be done, but we know how to do it, and we have Jesus to thank for that example.

Conclusion

One of the first things my track coach taught me when I began running track was that a runner should never look back to see what the rest of the field is doing. The only thing that does is slow the runner down.

It does the runner no good to run with an eye or his ears to the crowd. The distraction they create can hinder the runner. Gain from the support of the crowd, but do not become consumed with them.

If we think we can run the race with hindrances and encumbrances, we are only fooling ourselves. The only way to run a successful race is to keep our focus, and to focus on the One who shows us the way and sustains us in our efforts.

Because God gave us Jesus, who is the author and perfecter of our ways, because God is the One who through Jesus gives us the ability to rid ourselves of all hindrances, and because God gave us Jesus who is our example of perseverance, we must thank God for sustaining us in our race.

In light of all that God has done for us, let us take Paul’s example. “Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).