“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith”
Hebrews 12:1-2
I have always wanted to be a runner.
Unfortunately I’ve never really gotten much past jogger.
I used to be a distance jogger for example.
I jogged a half marathon once.
But run? Not so much.
And I never loved it.
You know those people who are like “I LOVE running! It feels so awesome” ?
Yeah, that’s not me.
I tried to make it be me, but I never was able to quite get there.
That’s one of the reasons I love this verse.
Because Paul says we will run with perseverance.
Not with speed.
Not with graceful beauty.
Not with high levels of skill.
Perseverance.
The Greek word Paul uses is “hypomone” (pronounced hi-poo-mo-nay) and it means “steadfastly” or “with endurance” as well as “with perseverance”.
I like this a lot.
Because what allows us to persevere in this race isn’t our skill or speed or agility, but the cloud of witnesses that surrounds us.
Our community.
Our crew.
(Our squad for you under-30s)
It’s our community that allows us to lay aside the things that hold us back, that weigh us down.
Because we know someone has our back.
That we are held and covered and surrounded.
So when people ask me why they should go to church when God is everywhere and can’t be contained to a building? This is why.
The cloud of witnesses.
The community of faith.
They mean something.
They are important.
And they are necessary if you want to stay in the race.
There’s a well-known hymn that immediately started playing in my head when I read this verse from Hebrews.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in his wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of his glory and grace.
If the cloud of witnesses is what helps us stay in the race, looking at Jesus is what gets us to the finish line. Actually, I might even say Jesus IS the finish line.
We just keep our eyes on Jesus.
This is a real thing in racing: you look where you want to go.
See where you’re heading.
Our faith is the same way – keep your eyes on Jesus.
Stay fixed on him. Focused on him.
Don’t look away.
And like that great hymn says, the things around us will be muted in comparison to the glory and grace we see in Jesus.
What we’re looking at is so bright it makes everything else look dim.
There are certain organisms, most commonly plants, that practice a movement called heliotropism. (Didn’t think you were getting a biology lesson today did ya?)
Heliotropism is when plants move themselves in order to be always facing the sunlight.
It comes from the greek word for sun “helio” and movement “trepos”
So the plant, usually a flower, will face itself to follow the path of the sun from sunrise to sunset each day.
If you want to see it in action – watch this short video of a mountain poppy.
I think that’s us, but instead of being heliotropic we’re theotropic.
(I thought I made this word up but it’s a real thing!)
We literally move ourselves toward God.
We move throughout our days, weeks, and years, to be facing God.
To fix our eyes on Jesus.
So keep running.
Run your race, knowing you are made stronger by the community surrounding you, and that you are always moving toward God.