Hebrews 12:1 - Therefore let us also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. -- World English.
The apostle is telling us to look back at those faithful ones of old spoken of in the preceding chapter. We should note their sufferings and yet how they maintained their faith in God regardless. Surely they are fine examples that should provide a stimulus for our faith and zeal. Who of us in our service to God and Jesus have not experienced similar experiences, or have not seen similar experiences in others who are fellow servants of the Lord Jesus?
The apostle tells those who belong to Christ to lay aside all things of this world that may hinder us in our calling. This does not mean that absolutely everything we might consider to be weights and hindrances is to be cast aside. For instance, a man who is married and has children should not cast these aside, but at the same time, they should not become of greater importance so as to replace our service to God and Jesus.
The race set before us, however, is not the same as that set before those faithful servants of old. We have been called to become joint-heirs with Christ, to become kings jointly with Christ in the Kingdom. To obtain this goal calls for us to have even greater zeal and willingness to suffer for Christ and His God. We believe, however, that most of the Lord's servants will fall short of obtaining this grand prize, although most of them will attain a lower reward than that of being joint-heirs with Christ. -- Ronald R. Day, Sr.
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