“Since we are surrounded by so many examples of faith, we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially sin that distracts us. We must run the race that lies ahead of us and never give up. We must focus on Jesus, the source and goal of our faith. He saw the joy ahead of him, so he endured death on the cross and ignored the disgrace it brought him. Then he received the highest position in heaven, the one next to the throne of God. Think about Jesus, who endured opposition from sinners, so that you don’t become tired and give up.” (Hebrews 12:1-2, GW)

Coming off of Easter weekend, I thought it appropriate to consider a bit more about the sacrifice of our Lord and how that works with our concept of joy. I found more in these verses in Hebrews. They follow the great Hall of Faith chapter, and so the “many examples of faith” surrounding us include the likes of great Bible people described in Hebrews 11. Folks like Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Joshua, Rahab, Jepthah, Barak–indeed all of God’s faithful who have gone before us make up this “great cloud of witnesses” (as the NIV translates it), watching from the grandstands of heaven as we run the race that lies ahead of us.

The writer of Hebrews reminds us that since this great crowd surrounds us, faithful people who in some cases died for their faith, we should look to their examples and get rid of anything that would slow us down. Like any good runner focusing on the finish line, we focus on Jesus, our ultimate example, the goal of our faith. “He saw the joy ahead of him” and endured the cross. When we think about him, we should be encouraged in our own individual race of life to not get tired and give up.

My race is different from your race; my track is different from yours. Like cross country runners, we all will wind through pleasant smooth pathways and up and down difficult hills (or mountains!). In order to keep going, I must strip away sin that entangles me and seeks to trip me up. I tend to worry a lot; doing that only slows me down, trips me up, distracts me, and at times even causes me to want to stop running altogether. What sin is weighing you down? Strip it off. Get rid of it.

Why should you keep running? Because there is an end to the race, my friend. Jesus endured because of the joy he saw ahead. You can endure for the same reason. There is joy ahead.

Are you weary of enduring hurt? Not feeling that you can take another step? Can joy be enough to look forward to? All that I’ve studied about joy in this past year tells me that yes, joy is the best enticement of all. It was enough for Jesus–He had left that joy and knew what He would be returning to. If it was enough for Him, how it could not be enough for me? I endure all of this patiently not because riches or fame await. Those would be of no lasting value. I endure not because death and nothingness await. That would be pointless. I endure not because I’m trying to be good enough so that I can do it all a little bit better in another life (talk about exhausting!). No, I endure because of the joy set before me. Deep abiding joy that no one can take away. Constant joy unmarred by sin and evil. Eternal joy in the presence of my God and all the witnesses who have gone before.

I don’t want anything to hinder me. Not my sin, my hangups, my fears, my worries, my hurts. I want to persevere, to not grow tired and give up.

After all, a whole crowd is cheering me on.