David and I recently ran the relay station for field day at our kids’ tutorial. You’d think explaining how to run around a cone and hand off a baton would be simple, but there were pretty hilarious complications. The biggest surprise was how the first graders formed strategic teams and caught on much faster than the high schoolers. Somewhere in the middle of hour five of this fun, as I was watching a group sprint their guts out and hand off that baton one after another, the glaring metaphor in front of me became clear: aren’t we doing this every single day?
I’m carrying some god-given batons right now.
The baton of a pastor’s wife.
The baton of motherhood.
The baton of homeschooling.
The baton of ministry… to name a few.
They’re mine to steward for a little while, but I’ll hand them off one day. I love Hebrews 12:1-2 because these two verses pack so much goodness for our race. Paul begins, “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,
Verse one tells us what to do:
- Lay aside every weight and sin that clings closely.
- Run with endurance.
These verses sound simple, but they’re utterly impossible in our own strength. We can’t lay aside any of our sin apart from him. And we definitely can’t run with endurance.
But verse two tells us where to look. Paul continues, “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
This is how we run: looking to Jesus. This looking requires a saving faith in Christ. Some translations say “fix our eyes.” Beholding Christ and his work on the cross is the source of our strength. There is no suffering we can’t endure looking to Jesus. No baton we can’t carry. When we consider our savior seated at the right hand of the throne of God, we can lay down our own sin because he took it up for us.
After crossing the finish line of the school relay race, the kids would immediately look at David and me to see who won a blue ribbon. We had one actual photo finish that was pretty intense! They all want to know: How did I do? Did I win a ribbon? Was it worth it getting this sweaty?
One day we’ll hand off the baton and finish our race, and it will definitely be worth it all. If you’re in him, be encouraged that what you carry for his glory matters. He will strengthen you to persevere and to hand off well to those after you until we see him face to face.
