Eyes on Jesus

We have been talking about finishing our race strong. Hebrews 12:1 says, “As for us, we have all of these great witnesses who encircle us like clouds. So we must let go of every wound that has pierced us and the sin we so easily fall into. Then we will be able to run life’s marathon race with passion and determination, for the path has been already marked out before us.”

There is a lot to take away from that one verse. Let’s start with the witnesses. Who are these witnesses Hebrews speaks of? In the Message translation it says, “Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it…”

Who are the pioneers? If we go back one chapter to Hebrews 11, we find ourselves looking at the great hall of faith. The list of some of the people who did profound things in the bible. They are our witnesses. But they are not looking at us hoping we fail, they are cheering us on because they want us to finish the race and see Jesus face to face.

So if you can imagine for a second, that we are in well publicized marathon race and instead of one or two people we know waiting in the crowd, we are surrounded by these witnesses cheering us on as we run our race. They all want you to win. Can you imagine what they could be saying? I can guarantee that they are not calling you names or telling you that you are defeated and never going to make it. No. Those are the words of the devil not the words from heaven.

The great cloud of witnesses is yelling out for us to let go of things that slow us down. They are shouting, “Put that offence down! It’s not worth it.” “No, don’t go seeing for yourself stay the course!” “Don’t give up, Holy Spirit is with you.” “Hold on to hope and wait on God, He will renew your strength!” “Keep running!” “Don’t quit!”

Those are the things I imagine they are saying. I doubt they are sitting there quietly watching, like it is a tennis match. So, what exactly are we to lay down? The Message version goes on to say, “Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins.” I like the term, “parasitic sins” because it expresses exactly what sin is. It’s a parasite and if you do not get rid of it, it will suck the life out of you.

Shake off the things that make the race a drag. Let go of anger it is heavy. Put down self-pity, you don’t need that, you are a victor not a victim. Leave behind bitterness and resentment, it is hard to move those boulders along the race course.

Why do we do this? So, we can run our race with passion and determination. How do we do this? Hebrews 12:2 TPT says, “We look away from the natural realm and we focus our attention and expectation onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection.  His example is this: Because his heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be his, he endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation, and now sits exalted at the right hand of the throne of God!”

We fix our eyes on Jesus. You want to finish your marathon race, keep your eyes on Jesus. Don’t look to the left or to the right. Know that there is a great cloud of witnesses, it is a cloud because there are so many, cheering you on. You can do this. Heaven seems to think so. Jesus definitely thinks so. You are outnumbered in any vote. So side with the truth of God’s word. Run with endurance. Run with determination. Run with passion and never take your eyes off Jesus.

Hebrews 12:2-3 in the Message translation says, “Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!”

Love and blessings,

Melissa Tsingano.