The title should keep running.
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You have to keep running. Hebrews 12:1-3
As we well know, Marathon is a running race held to commemorate the death of an Athenian warrior who ran from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens where the emperor was in 490 BC to announce the victory in the war. The distance that the hero ran is 42.195km, so the players are still running that distance. Even at the time of the early church when the book of Hebrews was written, marathons or running races were held. The athletes who participated at that time were well prepared and ran the race to win the crown.
Because our religious life is similar to a marathon, the writer of Hebrews compared our religious life to a marathon in an easy-to-understand way for people at the time. For marathon runners to run well, perform well and win, there are several important factors.
There should be many cheering people. - Listen to the voices of countless witnesses. On the day of the marathon, many people came out to the roadside, cheering, cheering and cheering. They must have cheered on the roadside saying “Cheer up”, “Fighting”, “Not much left”, and “Whoever is the best”. Many people gathered at the awards ceremony to celebrate and rejoice together. Athletes who completed all the races and won the championship were given a crown.
And you will hear a voice saying that you can have many children. These people of faith conquered nations by faith, did righteousness by faith, received promises, shut the mouths of lions, and destroyed the power of fire.
Sometimes they do it, they dodge the edge of the sword, they become strong in weakness, they become valiant in war (become strong), and they
It is said that they defeated people's camps and received persecution and death through faith (Hebrews 11). No matter what circumstances and circumstances we are in, we will be encouraged to live by faith just like them. Beloved, let us all follow these forefathers of faith. We hope that we will also be part of that great class by following in the footsteps of their faith.
You must run the race with patience. - Patience pays off. Marathons are hard. It's painfully hard. You must use all the strength you have and the strength you do not have. I run out of strength, and from then on, I run with will. In a slang word, we have to run ‘from evil to strength’. Meetings sometimes come in the middle. It is said that in a marathon, you want to give up after 4 runs. In that case, the most important thing is 'patience'. It is to persevere well whenever it is difficult. For us too, in order to finish all our goals and receive the crown, we need to be patient in order to successfully live our life of faith, or to achieve the ultimate mission or vision we have been given! In James 5 there are precious words about patience. He gives three examples. “Be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, and is patient, waiting for the early and the latter rain. Be patient on the way and be strong” (James 5:7-8).
First, be patient like a farmer.
The second is to be patient like the prophets. “Brothers, let the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord be an example of suffering and long-suffering” (10). The third is to be patient like Job. “Behold, blessed are those who persevere. You have heard of Job’s patience and have seen the end of the Lord, who is most merciful and merciful” (11).