Pastor’s Pen Pulpit

July 16, 2000

“THE GOAL AHEAD”

Hebrews 12:1, 2

Therefore since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the Throne of God.

Here we have the formula for winning the ancient races for the first century runners in the Olympics. In addition to stripping off the excess clothing , a runner was to concentrate on the goal ahead of him. A fraction of a second of distraction could cost a runner the precious time he needed to cross the finish line first. This could be looking behind him or just a glance at the runner alongside. It was a test of endurance and concentration on the goal toward which he was running.

Even so our Christian life is a race. Every one of us who are in Christ is running in order to finish the race. The formula for us is the same as for those involved in the Olympics. Sin and weights that pull us down in our lives are to be stripped off. This requires some earnest soul searching and good old fashioned honesty. Then we need to concentrate on the goal ahead of us - fixing our eyes upon Jesus. Jesus Christ is our goal. He has already run the race ahead of us. He has faced the most difficult opposition: the shame and torture of the cross. He reached the end of the race and has sat down at the right hand of His Father. He has given us His Spirit to keep us going along the way.

The Holy Spirit infuses us with the necessary incentive to keep going. Often we are tempted to look at others to see how they are doing. In doing so we lose precious time for we have a tendency to compare ourselves with others. Sometimes we compare our strengths with others’ weaknesses. This causes us to look good. Instead we should be comparing ourselves with Jesus. He is the One whom we are to pattern our lives after. To do this we have to look at Him - to study Him. The more we look at Him, the more like Him we become (c.f. II Corinthians 3:18).

Let me encourage you to examine your goal - your focus. What are you looking at in this life? Do you have a hero whom you are trying to emulate? Is the desire to outdo another believer controlling you? The paradox of the Christian life is we want to finish the race in good form, yet at the same time we want fellow believers to finish well, too. God bless!

Love to you all.