Running The Race

 Therefore, since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us, (Romans 12:1)

 

Another favorite verse provided this morning by Biblegateway.com. It provides a good process for dealing with fear. There is fear that obstructs our way, and there is fear that entangles. The response to both is to rid ourselves of them. One can go over or around an obstacle or move it out of the way. Doing so may not be graceful. It may not show us to be sublime athletes, but we can act against them or in spite of them.

“Sin which so easily entangles” is a different matter. A customer once brought a handful of necklaces to the counter where I worked. She had put them in a plastic bag to travel, and they were thoroughly entangled. Could we fix it? I don’t recall how long it took us, but my coworker and I managed it. I’ve also watched videos of people disentangling animals from fishing nets and barbed wire fences. It’s always a major struggle.

From what I’ve written about fear in the past couple days, the obstacles in today’s passage can refer to feeling fear because there is something there that can do harm. The sin that entangles is the fear that haunts and controls even when there is no sign that the thing feared is near. That’s not the only way to understand the obstacles and the entangling sin, but it strongly suggests what our responses to them should be.

And how does one overcome obstacles and disentangle from besetting sins? Part of the answer is running by faith the race set before us. That brings to mind the story of Eric Liddell. If you haven’t watched the movie Chariots of Fire – do. It is part of his story. But the part of his story that comes to mind here is the fact that his running form was not what the experts said it should be. When he tried to run according to their rules, he failed. He won at the Olympics running wrong. But what he said was “God made me fast. And when I run, I feel God’s pleasure.” This is how we get past the obstacles and disentangled from the sin – by seeking God’s pleasure, by keeping our focus on Him.