Lay aside your excess weight and run the Christian race well!

Don't let anything keep you from running the race well!

Hebrews 12: 1b-2

...let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

weight

a bulk or mass - metaphorically, an encumbrance - what is crooked or hooked, any thing that is attached or suspended by a hook - does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament, used in the sense of swelling and pride - the runner did not take on a burden and throw it away, but was careful not to allow anything that would be an encumbrance to start with

run

of persevering, activity in the Christian course with a view to obtaining the reward

patience

an abiding under - abiding in Christ through all the trials and troubles

r.a.c.e

1. (agon) one of the modes of an athletic contest - signifies the actual event

2. (stadion) denotes the actual course

author

a chief leader, captain, prince

finisher

a completer or consummater



Every Christian should examine his life and get rid of any sin or "stuff" that might keep him from being a winner. Jesus should be our leader and we should look to his holy life; to his patience and perseverance in trials; and to his final success and triumph.

Jesus wants us to walk with Him, not before or after Him. He is the first and last as an example of faith and confidence in God, and He is beyond comparison with any other human. He is the most complete model that could ever be placed before us.

After running flawlessly, He has now been exalted to the highest place of dignity and honor in the universe - the right hand of the Throne of God.

From Run the Race Well back to Blueprint for Victorious Christian Living