| “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us…” |
| —Hebrews 12:1 |
Millions upon millions of “Christ’s-ones”—Christians—have crossed over from this world into the arms of Jesus in the last nearly 2,000 years since His death and resurrection. Each one of these dear ones has a testimony of a life transformed by the power of the living Lord Jesus Christ.
The writer of the Book of Hebrews liked to think of these now departed ones as a “great cloud of witnesses.” Notice what he writes in Hebrews 12:1:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us…
Likening our Christian walk to a race that takes place before a large crowd of onlookers, this author urges us to get rid of anything that hinders our progress. He accurately portrays our besetting sins—those sins we refuse to put aside—as something that entangles us and greatly hinders our forward motion. Imagine how difficult it would be to run a race clinging to a briefcase, or to a bag of rocks, or with a vile snake wrapped around our legs.
Let us take to heart these words and determine to set aside anything that stands in the way of our forward spiritual progress. Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to reveal which sins we cling to and to give us the will to let them go.
It will be a grand and new day when we push forward to the cheers of that great cloud of witnesses. Yes, it truly will.
Based on a blog originally posted on Thursday, August 25, 2016
