Run Your Race

When I was young in my relationship with Ted (I can’t remember if we were engaged on newly married) I was talking with my friend (or looking at her Facebook feed) and she was talking about how she went to the Cajun Bahamas how amazing it was, and relaxing it was, and how thankful she was to go with her new husband.  Then she began to proclaim how amazing he was, and romantic, and really just perfect in all of his ways.

Instantly I began to compare. 

We had not been to the Cajun Bahamas.  How could Ted know about the Cajun Bahamas and not have taken me.  Did he not love me?  Wasn’t I good enough?  Our relationship was doomed even before he really started.

So, one weekend we went.  To the Cajun Bahamas. 

This my friends at the Cajun Bahamas.  There is no blue water.  There are no palm trees.  There is no sand, its basically a bayou which I don’t swim in anyways because I find it to be a little disgusting.  All of that energy looking at and comparing my life to someone else only to find out that the grass was really not greener on the other side.

https://www.houmatoday.com/article/DA/20070529/News/608092092/HC

Comparison kills contentment. 

When comparison ends, contentment begins. --Craig Groeschel

12:1 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 that is set before us.

To be clear the clouds of witnesses are an example, it is good to have examples as we run this race  and to let go of every weight and sin but we will also notice that there is a very specific race for each one of us to run.

The racethat is setbefore us:

-Raceis the ancient Greek word agona, a word used for conflict or struggle of many kinds, and a favorite word of Paul (Philippians 1:30struggle, Colossians 2:1struggle, 1 Thessalonians 2:2suffered, 1 Timothy 6:12good fight, 2 Timothy 4:7good fight and race).

-That is set Prokeimai, translated here as “marked out,”can also be translated “lie before, lie in view, be at hand”; the author has already used the word at 6:18to speak of the hope that has been “offered to” or “placed before” the believer. The picture evoked in 12:1is that of runners looking down the track at the course they must run.

They know where they must go and now must bring their training and commitment to bear on the task of running the race successfully. As runners see the path lying before them, so Christians see the path of the faith life stretch into the future.  It is not just a now race, it’s a future race.

It’s a race until your last breath race.  That is where it is marked out to. 

(EX) We were doing a 5K here at Hope Community before Covid and we marked out the race so that no one would get confused on where it was and where it wasn’t. 

There was a clear finish line.  An exact finish line.  So is our…when you quit breathing. 

-Before Us In Acts 20:24Paul pictured himself as a runner who had a race to finish, and nothing would keep Paul from finishing the race with joy. In that passage, Paul spoke of my race– he had his race to run, we have our own. 

So, each one of us has our own good fight.  Our own race.  Our own struggle even.

I remember battling through singleness and questioning God.  This is my race?

I remember battling through infertility and questioning God.  This is my race?

There are even battles that I face today and question God.  This is my race?

So, my race is not you race.  The good and the bad of it is mine.  Your race is not my race.

My marriage is not your marriage.  Your marriage is not my marriage.

My family is not your family.  Your family is not my family. 

This church’s race is not another church’s race.  We believe Hope Community has a very specific purpose of restoring people to God, making disciples, and actively serving.  Another church’s race is not our race, they may feel more drawn to another area of ministry.

Comparison is an ugly game that we all have played at least once in our lives (but more realistically, probably daily). Envy is usually the result. 

We all know that envy is not fun and God isn’t a fan of it.  The internet makes it worse. It can encourage you and discourage you in the same breath. We know what everyone is doing, or at least what they want us to know (the good things). It’s so easy to scroll and scroll and have disappointment and jealousy grow with every thumb swipe.

I can assure you that when you see a perfect picture nothing before or after it was perfect.

It would have taken 100 pictures with filters just to get something halfway normal.

My family is crazy. 

I can assure you when you hear of a picture-perfect family, marriage, church, that is not the real picture.  More than likely they are covering for what is truly wrong. 

No one is perfect except Christ.  No one or entity has it all together. 

“Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else” Galatians 6:4

“Let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t.” Romans 12:6

So, what race should I be running?

There are some guidelines, its just going to look unique in each one of our lives. 

It is not like God is saying you can live any way you want or run any race you want, rather God is saying the way that you do it will be unique to who youare and what I have designed for you, the giftings youhave, the environment that I have placed youin.

The older I get I realize its not so much what is the race, it’s how I run it…I don’t know so much if it was which college, which job, which decision, but how…So, what does God require as you run your race?

There are all kinds of relatable verse in the bible but this one pretty much sums it up.

Micah 6:8 (amp) He has told you, O man, what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you except to be just, and to love (and to diligently practice) kindness, (compassion) and to walk humbly with your God (setting aside any overblown sense of importance or self-righteousness)?

This is the way that we are to run the race in the place that God has put us in.

As you run your race to do that justly.  Be just.  Fight for justice.  Make things right. To act justly with a sense of right and wrong.  As you run your race to make things right. 

As you run your race to do that in loyal love. Another work is loving kindness. Along with justice we are to provide mercy.  Both mercy and justice are foundational to God’s character.  We are to show loyal love to God and our fellow man just as he has to us.

As you run your race to walk humbly with your God. It’s your heart’s attitude as you run your race.  You are dependent on Him rather than your own abilities. 

Instead of taking pride in what we bring to the table, it is outward (do justice), inward (love mercy), and its upward (walk humbly).

And that is how you know that you are running your race correctly.