“Therefore since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race marked out for us.” (Heb.12:1)
Like I said yesterday, this is remember time--recalling what we’ve been learning in Bible study, because I tend to forget in a nanosecond! Makes me think of a song I love by Jason Gray: “Remind me who I am.” It’s about asking God to remind us that who and Whose we are--a beloved child redeemed by the King of Kings. We tend to forget in the muck and mire of life, don’t we? But when we recall Who saved us, Who loves us, Who empowers us, well then we’ll stop looking for affirmation and fulfillment in all the wrong, empty places. All Him. All Him.
So, back to this wonderful verse in Hebrews. If we run our race by faith, the first thing we have to do is “lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely.” What does that mean and why is it so important?
Well, have you ever observed what those world class runners wear in their races? Next to nothing! I briefly ran track in college to get in shape for tennis, and let me tell you, those race getups were a deal breaker. I’ll never forget the coach handing me this dinky little singlet and what looked like a pair of glorified stretchy underpants and expected me to go out there and actually run in front of real, live people in that outfit! Are you kidding? My bathing suit had more coverage than that track uniform!
But when it’s time for a big race, that’s what great runners do. They wear the lightest of clothing and running flats. Not a one of them will be racing while carrying their ipad, purse, or maybe a nice-looking pair of boots. Nope, they eliminate every possible source of extraneous weight so they can run as swiftly and freely as possible.
That’s what the writer of Hebrews exhorts us to do. Jettison every possible source of weight and sin, so you can run hard! Now, we all know what Hebrews is referring to when we’re told to lay aside our “sin.” Boy, sin can really weigh us down. Think of the heaviness sin carries with it--that awful burden of guilt, of shame, of fear of being found out, of damage we cause not just to ourselves but to others.
Aren’t you tired of that? Aren’t you sick and tired of the devil telling you that you’ll never change, that’s just how you are? That you’ll never be rid of that sinful habit or that tendency to worry or that proclivity to gossip or that desperate need to control or that devastating addiction.
You know, I’m not saying it’s easy. Confessing and killing our sin never is. But it’s not about what I say. It’s about what God says in His Word, and He tells us in Gal.2:20 that we “have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Or in Romans 6:12,14: “Let not sin reign in your mortal body, to make you obey it’s passions...For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” Or how about from Gal.5:21,“For freedom Christ has set us FREE; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Gal.5:21)
It’s high time we stopped listening to the enemy who comes only to steal, kill, and destroy, and instead start listening to Jesus. And here’s what He’s telling you: Lay. Those. Burdens. Down.
He covered them all at the cross, so you don’t have to bear them anymore. Confess, repent and believe that the power of Almighty God that raised Jesus from the dead will enable you to lay aside that destructive, joy-killing, peace-stealing sin in your life.
So we lay aside that horrible burden of sin and shame, but we’re also told to lay aside “every weight.” What are those other weights? Warren Wiersbe defines them as “everything that hinders our progress.” Weights can be perfectly good things--but perhaps at this time and place in our lives, at this particular season in our lives, they’re not the best things.
There are weights that can divert our focus and attention, blunting our love for Christ and dulling our hunger for His Word. Those things that can waste our time and energy--like too much time on facebook or twitter, too much TV, too much magazine or catalogue browsing, too much eating or drinking. (The exception to that, of course, is chocolate. Chocolate’s ALWAYS good!)
How about the weight of misplaced priorities that can get us off track...the weight of discouragement that can cause us to throw in the towel...the weight of overcommitment that prevents us from spending time with the Lord and with His Word...or the particularly burdensome weight of sluggishness that tends to make us apathetic and lazy, so we can’t seem to make ourselves do what know we should be doing. ugh. That one reminds me of a needlepoint pillow my aunt Janie had: “My get up and go...got up and went!” Yep, I bet some of us can relate to that along about 4:00 in the afternoon.
Then, of course, there’s the weight of good old worry and anxiety. I know everyone can fall prey to this defeating weight, but I’m thinking we women might be particularly susceptible. We’re so much more likely than men to brood over things, turning them over and over in our minds till a relatively small concern morphs into a tsunami of worry. (I won’t add the caveat that men, on the other hand, when confronted with these potential hand-wringing issues typically respond a little differently than women. While we’re just beginning to churn the issue over in our minds, men’s response typically seems to sound a little more like this: “hmmn..oh well” and move on. Geez.)
Happened to me a few weeks back, because one of my children was struggling a bit in school and forgetting to hand in some of his assignments. By the time I finished churning the issue over in my frazzled head, I had already consigned him to a life of juvenile delinquency, crime, and abject failure.
Let me ask you something: how do you think carrying all that baggage of worry and discouragement affected my race? I think you know the answer to that question. Rather than enjoying God’s peace, wisdom, and hope because I took it straight to Him, I was derailed by fear and frustration.
But God is such a God of grace, and here our Bible study was exploring this very chapter. The Lord gently reminded me to lay aside the weight of my worry. I handed my Savior the burden and suddenly felt ready again to run and to love and encourage my child that our Heavenly Father would help us figure this out.
I know that’s a silly example, and someone reading this may carry far heavier burdens and weights, but Jesus says the same thing to you as He does to each of His beloved children: “Come to ME, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for you souls. For My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Mt.11:28-30)
He’s telling us today--and everyday--in His Word: come to Me and lay aside all those burdensome weights and sins, so you can freely and fully run. Run! RUN!
To God be the glory.
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