2023-04-22 A Meditation on The Race Set Before Us
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,” (Heb 12:1 ESV)
To be on a journey carries with it all manner of associations. We remember trips to grandma’s and grandpa’s, or off to a summer family locale, camping or touring, museums and ice cream shacks. Yet to be on a faith journey requires a bit more reflection to depict accurately, accurately to ascertain the real (a) jumping off points, and (b) terror-stricken sinking in the water.
In starts and fits this old jalopy gets back its legs. That car, a marvelous combustion machine, bears for us the scorching heat of day and the silent wind in the willows of the night.
That vehicle is our same faith journey, which journey may introduce us to untold hours of fright and astonishing hours of joy. The car is one to rely in, provided we are of eager spirit to tend to the nuts and bolts and not forget under-the-hood engineering, the screwdriver and the wrench.
Each of us knows the pleasure of all good things in the Lord. Each of us knows the stasis of rest. Each of us may have gone long eras without such calm and reflective time together in faith. Yet each of us is able to be matter-of-fact and sincere towards our peers, because we are taking delight in no workings of our own hands, but of the Lord’s.
We are taking delight because a Vision greeted the morn come conversion time. A vision we had, and kept to our joyful self, not out of greed or miserliness, but because others weren’t quite feeling it in that hour. We blabbered as though to strangers busily passing on the street. We weren’t quite heard, in all our ecstasy and vision. But also we have since learned patience. We have learned that the Lord has a timing system with much more investment initially, and concomitantly more patience for the outworkings, the joints and the sinews, to come together. So we invite the nightmarish frights as well, which frights propose a long slog before healing of this our latest sin. No: for however we’ve sinned, God wants us to know in His book, the sin is no more. In His book, the records and accounts are in the black. In His book, already we should—rather, putting no pressure or “Law” into the matter—we could already testify. We could already give back, though under no pressure to do so.
This talk about the race set before us is only because so many hear in the religious talk a journey that is a guilt trip: “You aren’t there yet…”. And our experience is that we must win with our good cheer and clear conscience. We must draw out the hidden insinuations, to the light of day. We must be willing to know what a fine and grateful thing it is just to be seen as okay in our own skin.