Hebrews 12:1 (KJV)

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

The New Testament frequently employs the metaphor of the race to describe the Christian life. In this case there are three lessons drawn:

First, we have an audience

I was on my high school track team a couple of years. There is a group who comes to watch the events but the majority of our spectators were fellow athletes; those who had run or were just about to. This is the same in the Christian life. Those in eternity are called a great cloud of witnesses. The passage does not mention them but we know there is a younger generation watching us.

Second, we run this race patiently

It’s a long distance course, not a sprint. A few of the more notables in the Christian world would do well to see it that way.

Thirdly, it is set differently for each of us

It’s going to play out uniquely for every one of us. We are:

* Wired differently

* Gifted differently

* Situated differently and

have different advantages and disadvantages than others. The course can look exactly the same and still be a completely different race for everyone on it.

The key is to run the race. Run it faithfully, run it unhindered by sin.