LOOKING UNTO JESUS

LOOKING UNTO JESUS
Heb 12:1-3
"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith…." (v.2, KJV)

THE SCENE IS THAT OF A GREAT stadium. The crowds are gathered on the grand-stands. The runners are off! The thunderous cheers reverberate throughout the stadium. From the tracks, the athletes find instant encouragement from the applause. As the race wears on, the cheers rise again and again, spurring the runners on.

The author of Hebrews has just presented a contingent of those who had, by faith, endured and run their race. They are now at the stands, "a great cloud of witnesses" (v.1) urging us who are on the tracks running our race. In that sense they are not like many spectators of today for whom athletics is but an armchair sport. They jeer and cheer but have little idea of what it means to sweat it out on the circuit. Here we have the inspiration of those who had been through it all.

More importantly, we have the inspiration of One who is "the author and perfecter of our faith" (v.2). Jesus pioneered the trail for the race, and He ran and finished it. True, it may appear that He came only after all the others have completed theirs. But in truth, the Christ was already there before Abraham or Moses or Elijah was - going before and setting the pace for all to follow. We are therefore to fix our eyes on Jesus. We are to emulate His example. He looked beyond the present. He saw, not the cross he suffered on, but beyond that to the joy of accomplishing His Father's will. The reference to perseverance and endurance tells us that the race is not a 100-metre dash. When I was in school, I ran the cross-country run. I remember how important it was for me to think constantly of the finishing line. Nothing else mattered. If I dwelt on my fatigue or the long stretch ahead of me or the other runners over-taking me, I would grow discouraged and give up.

In any race, the athlete wears the minimum of clothes to carry the least weight. To go fast and far, we must go light. We are to "throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles" (v.1). Firstly, there are things which may not be sinful in themselves, but are unhelpful hindrances, e.g. a time-consuming hobby. Secondly, there are things which are sinful and positively harmful. They entangle and impede like the way a long, loose robe does to a runner if he wears it while running. May God give us grace to discard them today.

Am I travelling light?