Title: Racer of Faith / 2004.8.22
content runner
Hebrews 12:1-2, Philippians 3:7-14
The heat of the Olympics is hot. There is a time difference with Greece, so you have to watch the broadcast every morning at dawn, so there are a lot of people who sleep during the day these days. This means that there are many people who like to exercise. I also had trouble sleeping on this vacation, not because I was watching TV, but because of the cheers and chatter of people watching TV all night next to the dorm. Thanks to that, I happened to see Marley eating an own goal.
Do you know what the last event in the Olympics is? Marathon. It is a race that runs 42.195 km. In 490 BC, the Athenian army defeated the Persian army that invaded Athens in the wilderness of Marathon and won. In order to inform the restless Athenians of this victory, a soldier ran towards the city of Athens with all his might, shouted, 'We have won!' and died on the spot from exhaustion. The distance it ran was 42.195 km. So, to commemorate this, the marathon race began. Marathon is difficult because no one can help you, and you have to run more than 100 miles on your own. So, the person who takes first place here is greatly praised for his perseverance, courage, and fighting spirit that overcame human limitations and ran to the end, and the whole world cheered.
More importantly, this marathon is meaningful because it resembles the life we live. Just as no one can take over for a marathon, life doesn't depend on who lives for you, and no one carries the burden for you. You have to live your life on your own, and only you can bear the burden of that life.
There are things in a person's life that other people can do for them, and there are things that other people can't do for them. Laundry work, someone else can do it for you. Buying things, someone else can do it for you. But no one else can do the work for you, get a haircut, eat a meal, go to the bathroom. Only yourself can do it.
So is belief. Many worship together, but each worships its own. No one else can ever take my place of worship. Even though it is called intercession and other people do my prayers for me, my relationship with God is a direct relationship with myself and God. Other people's beliefs cannot be mine.
Just as a marathon has to run a long journey on our own, we must also run our lives, especially the course of our faith, on our own. In fact, today's Bible verse compares our religious life to this marathon. We are comparing our believers to runners running with cheers from many spectators, as if running a marathon at the Olympic Stadium.
We have thousands of witnesses surrounding us like a cloud.
Put off all the burdens and sins that easily entangle
With perseverance we run the race set before us... Hebrews 12:1
Today's text tells us that there are three things we must do this week, the race of life.
1. It means to get rid of useless things.
Put off all the burdens and the sins that easily entangle us... 12:1
The first thing a racer needs to prepare is to get rid of all the useless and cumbersome things. Because you can never win with all of those things. It doesn't just mean wearing it on your body. You should also let go of your interest in the environment or the scenery around you. A racer can't win if he is intoxicated with the beautiful scenery or wastes his time looking at the flowers.
I see a lot of times when athletes at the Olympics cry when they win medals. Why? Would you cry if you just play and then go on a plane and play games while you play? It's not like that. When you want to play like others, you can't play, you can't eat what you want, you run over your weak will and temptations, and when you reach your goal, tears of emotion flow. Because it is the fruit obtained by endlessly challenging oneself to give up things to throw away, persevere to endure, and overcome the weakness of oneself, the emotion is greater and the reward is greater, so the applause of people is also greater.
Even in the Lord, when you cast off the world's miscellaneous concerns, doubts, and temptations of sin, you can run strong. The Apostle Paul confessed that he had given up all his knowledge in order to gain Christ.
whatever was useful to me
For the sake of Christ I count all things, and all things,
Because the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord is the noblest.
I lost everything for him and counted it as dung.
that you may gain Christ and be found in him... Philippians 3:7-9
This is not to say that we should give up everything unconditionally and come to church and live. It's about living standards. Talking about priorities in life. The Lord gave up his high throne for us, and ultimately gave his life. What could be compared to this? Just like a marathon, so is life and faith. You have to know how to let go in order to win. Emotion comes to those who have given up and persevered.
2. Running with patience.
A marathon is an exercise that challenges the limits of human beings. It must be because it is so difficult and difficult. Olympic gold medalist Hwang Yong-jo has a saying. He said that he thought several times about how hard it would be to jump into a running car while training. That's probably how powerful it was. So patience is required. You have to win the battle with yourself.
Today's text also tells us to run this week with patience.
With perseverance we run the race set before us... 12:1
There are tiring, difficult and difficult turning points in life. Each time we have to think about two things. One is the patience and courage of the seniors of faith. The meaning of the word 'many witnesses' is to refer to the support of our seniors of faith who have won on the road of life. Another is the support of our Lord. We must open the eyes of the spirit to see that the Lord is with us. Then we will again have the strength and courage to run our course to the end.
Wounded young eagles flocked to the cliffs. They were the eagles who failed the flying test, were ostracized by their colleagues, and were attacked by powerful eagles and wounded. They agreed that it is better to be dead than to live. At this time the heroic eagle, who was watching, came down and spread his wings before them. The wings had torn scars here and there. "This was torn from a pine branch during a flight test, and these are scratches from the upper eagle. But these are only visible wounds. The scars on the heart are countless." And the hero eagle, revered by all, said: "Get up and keep flying. The only birds that are not wounded are those that die as soon as they are born. Who among us living is without a wound?"
There was a woman who was introduced on TV. I forgot who it was, but a taekwondo girl immigrated to the United States to gather neighborhood bullies and teach taekwondo. And it corrected their way of life. The people who are currently practicing taekwondo started a well-known company in Silicon Valley in the United States and turned it into a company that dominates the entire United States. There is a saying that the Korean woman, who was that Taekwondo girl, who is now looking at her 60th birthday, planted a saying while adopting wandering American children as adopted sons and daughters. 'He can do, She can do, Why not me!' 'If he can do it and I can do it, I can do it too!'
In life, sometimes it hurts, it's hard, there are many times when it's difficult. However, you should not give up on the path of life and sit down. You have to run with patience to the end. All the victors are the ones who ran with their wounds, their pain, and their difficulties, overcoming them. They are Abraham, Joseph, David, and Paul. They are by our side and as witnesses in the Word, so I am victorious, so you too can win. 'He can do, She can do, I can do, Why not you!' 'He did it, I did it, and I did it. So you can do it too!'
3. We must run while looking at Jesus.
An essential part of running is knowing where the goal is. The most important thing in life is knowing where I am going now. If you're running hard for somewhere and you don't know where you're going, that run is of no use.
What is the goal of our saints' lives? Jesus. This is what we are talking about in today's text.
Let us look to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. 12:2
Looking back or looking down will shake your target. Only the Lord is our goal. Seeing Jesus walking on the water, Peter experienced the miracle of walking too. The Bible testifies that they could walk on water while seeing the Lord, but fell into the water the moment they looked down in fear (Matthew 14:25-31). As long as you look to the Lord, you can overcome the world, but if you look down on the world, you are falling into the world.
Marathon runners don't always run with all their might from the start. To run well to the end, I balance my strength well. Because even if you run well in the beginning, if you get tired later, all your runs will be in vain. That's why marathon runners run while always calculating where I'm at. And now, when you feel that your goal is near, you start running with all your might from now on. You can do it because you know your goals.
How is life? Even in the race course of life, you need a heart of wisdom to count your days. For those who live only thinking about the body, the more they live their lives, the more blurred their goals become. Why we live, where we should go, and why we live is just futile. However, people of faith become more and more clear about their goals. Even if the body decays and goes away, the inner person will feel new and run more vigorously day by day.
Brethren, I do not think that I have yet
There is only one thing to do: Forget what is behind and aim for what is in front of you.
I pursue the reward of the above calling of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14
In today's verse, the life of the saints is compared to a runner. In order to become the ultimate victor, we give up what we throw away, run to the end with perseverance, and run with Jesus as the goal of our life. This is the marathon and week of life. In the name of the Lord, I pray that you will become the saints who run the race on the road in the race of life and receive the crown of righteousness, the eternal reward, rather than the laurel wreath that will disappear soon.
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