Somebody Up There Is Watching Me
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”
–Hebrews 12:1 (New Living Translation)
–Hebrews 12:1 (New Living Translation)
Every once in a while I wish I could ask some of my deceased relatives their opinion of how I am living my life. Before you get worried, I am not talking about conversing with them in some type of séance. It’s just that sometimes I find myself missing them and I just wish they were still alive and could give me advice from their wisdom. I wonder how they would warn me concerning the pitfalls of my life based on their own successes and failures. I wonder how they would encourage me in facing difficulties and in facing victories. I wonder if there would be more cheers than jeers from them for how I am running my race of faith.
I know that these conversations with them will never take place. But for those of my deceased relatives who, because of their own faith, are now with their Savior Jesus Christ, I know they have joined the other saints of old and are watching my life of faith from the bleachers in heaven.
Each of us has been preceded by a heritage and legacy of faith. Some of our faith heroes may have been relatives or close friends, or they just may have been believers in history or the faithful from the Bible. These heroes of the faith surround us and observe the strides we make as we grow in and live out our faith. When we fall on our faces in sin, maybe a collective moan comes from them. When we fight the good fight in a given situation, maybe there is a round of thunderous applause and hurrahs. I am sure they are watching us on the edges of their seats pulling for us and booing our enemy Satan for the cheap shots and dirty tactics his evil team of minions throw at us.
The Bible says “we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith” (Hebrews 12:1 NLT). The writer is referring specifically to the heroes of the faith listed in the previous chapter. Some of the faithful were referred to specifically—like Abraham, Moses, etc.—while others were just generally mentioned. Some were faithful throughout their lives. Some were even killed for their faith. Many of the early readers of the book of Hebrews probably knew someone personally who had been persecuted because of faith in Jesus Christ. So the writer is encouraging his readers to live their lives mindful of the faithful examples that had preceded them and to honor those heroes with holy and faithful lives.
The writer encouraged his brothers and sisters in faith to join him by choosing to “strip off every weight”—all the easily ensnaring sin—so that they could run the race of faith more efficiently with less trip-ups. He wanted them all to continue to endure the race of faith which God laid out before them so that they would finish strong.
But for each of us, as with the early readers, Jesus Christ is the greatest observer of our lives. From the best seat in the “Heavenly Stadium,” He not only watches our progress but He is the One to whom we must aspire to emulate. Jesus Christ is “the champion who initiates and perfects our faith” (v. 2). This means, because of Jesus’ victory over sin and death, He makes our faith and relationship with a loving God possible in the first place. And second, Jesus is the One through whom the power of His indwelling Holy Spirit makes running the race of faith victoriously feasible for every believer. When we consistently shed the excess baggage of sin in our lives and when we focus on our Champion’s victorious example for us and made available to us, we will run our races of faith better and receive great cheers of “Well Done!” from the One seated on the throne.
When life’s race gets hard, we must remember the examples of those who have run before us. We must remember their successes and failures and run accordingly. But we must never take our eyes off of our Champion—Jesus Christ. He is the One for whom we are running and the One who gives us everything we need for the victory. We must run by faith in the example of our Savior who receives the glory for our races run well. Keep your eyes on Jesus. His eyes are always on you.
I know that these conversations with them will never take place. But for those of my deceased relatives who, because of their own faith, are now with their Savior Jesus Christ, I know they have joined the other saints of old and are watching my life of faith from the bleachers in heaven.
Each of us has been preceded by a heritage and legacy of faith. Some of our faith heroes may have been relatives or close friends, or they just may have been believers in history or the faithful from the Bible. These heroes of the faith surround us and observe the strides we make as we grow in and live out our faith. When we fall on our faces in sin, maybe a collective moan comes from them. When we fight the good fight in a given situation, maybe there is a round of thunderous applause and hurrahs. I am sure they are watching us on the edges of their seats pulling for us and booing our enemy Satan for the cheap shots and dirty tactics his evil team of minions throw at us.
The Bible says “we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith” (Hebrews 12:1 NLT). The writer is referring specifically to the heroes of the faith listed in the previous chapter. Some of the faithful were referred to specifically—like Abraham, Moses, etc.—while others were just generally mentioned. Some were faithful throughout their lives. Some were even killed for their faith. Many of the early readers of the book of Hebrews probably knew someone personally who had been persecuted because of faith in Jesus Christ. So the writer is encouraging his readers to live their lives mindful of the faithful examples that had preceded them and to honor those heroes with holy and faithful lives.
The writer encouraged his brothers and sisters in faith to join him by choosing to “strip off every weight”—all the easily ensnaring sin—so that they could run the race of faith more efficiently with less trip-ups. He wanted them all to continue to endure the race of faith which God laid out before them so that they would finish strong.
But for each of us, as with the early readers, Jesus Christ is the greatest observer of our lives. From the best seat in the “Heavenly Stadium,” He not only watches our progress but He is the One to whom we must aspire to emulate. Jesus Christ is “the champion who initiates and perfects our faith” (v. 2). This means, because of Jesus’ victory over sin and death, He makes our faith and relationship with a loving God possible in the first place. And second, Jesus is the One through whom the power of His indwelling Holy Spirit makes running the race of faith victoriously feasible for every believer. When we consistently shed the excess baggage of sin in our lives and when we focus on our Champion’s victorious example for us and made available to us, we will run our races of faith better and receive great cheers of “Well Done!” from the One seated on the throne.
When life’s race gets hard, we must remember the examples of those who have run before us. We must remember their successes and failures and run accordingly. But we must never take our eyes off of our Champion—Jesus Christ. He is the One for whom we are running and the One who gives us everything we need for the victory. We must run by faith in the example of our Savior who receives the glory for our races run well. Keep your eyes on Jesus. His eyes are always on you.
posted by Sojourner at 4:09 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home