Run the Race

Reflection

We come to the end of this series with an image of endurance. The Christian life, says Hebrews, is a long-distance race — and we are not running it alone. "Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses," we run in the company of all the faithful who have gone before us, the great roll call of believers whose stories fill the previous chapter. We are part of something far older and larger than ourselves. To run well, we are told to "lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely." A runner strips off anything that slows them down. Some of these are plainly sins; others are simply weights — good things, even, that have become burdens, entanglements, distractions from the course. Perseverance often requires letting go. But the real secret of endurance is where we fix our eyes: "looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith." We do not run staring at our own feet, obsessing over our stumbles, nor at the other runners. We run looking at him. He is the one who began our faith and the one who will bring it to completion. And he ran his own race all the way to the cross — enduring it "for the joy that was set before him" — and is now seated in triumph. So as you reach the end of these thirty days, remember: the race is long, but you do not run it alone, you do not run it staring at your failures, and you do not run it in your own strength. You run it looking to Jesus, who has already finished the course and waits to welcome you home.