Like Paul said... "...Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us...(Hebrews 12:1 NKJV)"
Endurance: The capacity to withstand stress. Perseverance. (Courtesy of Webster's.)
I find that definition kinda funny... If you're anything like me, you'd think "endurance" meant "stamina"...? But "withstanding stress"..... that's different. Interesting thought... Don't really know where to go with that one! I wasn't expecting to see that when i opened up the dictionary! But God knows what He's about!
Well... after much contemplation, i think we have to see what the race is in order to know what the stress is.
The race that we are running is learning how to be like Jesus. It's a test of faith.
To win this race, we have to lay aside every weight and sin (Heb 12:1), that's the stuff that would be like carrying a 50lb knapsack while running a marathon. And we have to keep our eyes focused on Jesus and our hearts focused on wanting to be more like Him.
"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 has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb 12:2)"
So the stresses we are withstanding are all those things that we need to overcome on our way to becoming like Jesus, all the things of this world that are going to try to hold us back, and all the times when we mess up and need to be disciplined by God (continued in Heb. 12:3-11).
February 02, 2005
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