“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:1-3

While dismantling our house down state I was amazed at the amount of things we had acquired and felt the weight of the clutter. New commitments were made to create an efficient and ordered environment. I then thought how much more important it is to have an uncluttered soul, and a well ordered life.

Our passage begins with the imagery of a ‘cloud of witnesses,’ spectators watching us run the race. The idea is that those who went before us are cheering us on to persevere and finish the race. The grandstand is full.

In order to run this race we are to ‘throw off’ everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles us. This is the worst kind of clutter: those sinful habits and patterns of life that we inherit from our flesh/sinful nature. The Apostle Paul talks about these in Galatians 5, and delineates the battle between flesh and Spirit. But we are those who have the Spirit, and we can with his help be free of those patterns of sin that entangle us.

And so, we are to ‘run the race marked out for us.’ And the Christian life is indeed a race. The Apostle Paul elaborates on this in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 and in 2 Timothy 4:6-8. He says that he does not run like one running ‘aimlessly.’ He runs with purpose and perseverance the race that God has for him. It is a race overshadowed by God providence; a race that is ‘marked out for us.’

We are to ‘fix our eyes on Jesus,’ the one who went before us and set an example for us. Jesus lived by hope, the ‘joy that was set before him.’ He saw in advance the great reward that awaited him, which included us as his redeemed people.

We are to ‘consider him’ which is basically the same thing as fixing our eyes on him. The result is that we will not ‘grow weary’ and ‘lose heart.’ This is a real possibility for all of us; we can lose a life that flows from that precious center of our being referred to as the heart; we can live an empty, passionless life.

How do we do this? First of all by reading the Bible and keeping Jesus life as revealed in the Scriptures right before our eyes. Secondly by praying and listening for the still, small voice of the Spirit in our lives. Thirdly, we fix our eyes on Jesus by taking part in ‘spiritual discussion’ with each other. We need each other, and were never meant to walk this path alone. It is all to easy to be self-deceived.

Today we fix our eyes on Jesus by celebrating the Lord’s Supper. This simple ordinance was instituted two thousand years ago to help us remember the basic truth of the Gospel: That Jesus came to the earth, lived a righteous life and then died for our sins. He is coming again to finally make all things right and to rescue His people from the present evil age. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Him.

Pastor Tim, September 2, 2007