Endurance

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter (finisher) of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)

 I chose a longer passage of scripture today, mainly because it’s fairly self-explanatory, and there’s also a handful of E words, which is an added bonus. The assistant pastor at my church likes to use Hebrews 12 a lot because he enjoys running. He says when you run it is best to keep your eyes on the finish line or at least a fixed point in front of you, because if you turn to the right or left, you are likely to veer off course and end up taking longer. In the race of the Christian life, sin may try to take us off course or we may feel tired and like we can’t go on. But if we look at Jesus, who set the course and finished the race before us, we can endure to the end. For more details on this topic you can read my post titled Attaining the Prize.