The first Olympic games in the United States were held in St. Louis as part of the World’s Fair in 1904. The key event of the 1904 Olympics was the marathon. The course stretched for 24.85 miles across roadways, railroad crossings, and seven steep hills with only two water stops along the way. Five famous American marathon runners, ten Greeks, two South Africans, and a Cuban were some of the notable athletes that met at the starting line in August’s humid 90-degree weather.
America’s first Olympic marathon became historic for a reason other than the obvious. You see, one American dropped out of the race because he nearly died from a hemorrhage while a bout of vomiting took out a second. Dogs chased another runner off the course. Yet another racer quit because of severe stomach cramps. An American, named Fred Lorz, seized with stomach cramps, opted to catch a ride in one of the automobiles following beside the course for about 11 miles of the race. Consequently, Lorz was the first one to finish the race, but his wreath and medal were rescinded once it came out that he had disqualified himself. The one who was finally declared to be the winner had taken small doses of a drug to enhance his performance which was still less than stellar. Yes, the first American Olympic marathon was historic not only because the World’s Fair stole most of the glory, but also because its key event looked more like an epic failure than an athletic feat. These “athletes” were noted in history not for their endurance, but for their lack of endurance. They couldn’t endure because they just were not prepared for the hardships they would face along the course.
Like the St. Louis Olympic marathon, the Christian race is an arduous one. As runners in this race, Christians must be prepared for the hardships they will face along the course. We cannot allow hardships, whether internal or external, defeat us. We cannot quit. We must endure. But how? Well, Hebrews 12 gives us at least four encouragements for endurance.
The first encouragement for endurance Hebrews 12 gives us is to remember that we are not alone in our race. Chapter 12 begins, saying, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” These words paint a picture of a cheering section in heaven. This cheering section is made up of people we might consider “heroes of the faith”—people like Abraham, Sarah, Joseph, and David mentioned in Hebrews 11. Abraham and Sarah endured a journey to a land they didn’t even know about when they started, as well as years of waiting for the fulfillment of an impossible promise. Joseph endured betrayal, slavery, slander, and imprisonment. David endured abandonment, disappointment, loneliness, and loss—just read the psalms! Others described in Hebrews 11 were violently killed for their faith. Yet each of these believers, some with their glaring faults, endured such afflictions and held onto their faith in God. If they could endure, so can we.
These faithful believers are not the only ones cheering us on. In Hebrews 12:3, we are told to “consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.” The One we are to consider is Jesus Christ who bore our sin on Himself so that He could win the victory over death and sin for you and me. Later in Hebrews 4:15, we are reminded that Jesus is “not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” If Jesus could endure the shame of bearing our sin on the cross, then we can endure the shame that may come with living for Him in a hostile world. Yet Jesus doesn’t just empathize with us, He is also present with us as we run. As Hebrews 13:5 says, “for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” While we may often feel alone in this race, like Elijah did once, we are never alone. We have a cloud of witnesses. Better yet, we have Jesus Christ, our High Priest who can empathize with us and who will never leave us. What an encouragement to endure!
Not only does Hebrews 12 encourage us to remember that we are not alone in the race, but it also encourages us to focus on the Finisher (meaning perfecter) of our faith. Hebrews 12:2 says, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” The Greek word translated “looking” means “to turn the eyes away from other things and fix them on something.” It means focus. We often lament, “I can’t focus on more than one thing at a time!” Well, that’s because focus, by definition, is the act of singling out one item for our attention. If we are paying attention to multiple items at a time, we may be “multitasking,” but we are not focusing. If we are in a race and we are paying attention to the finish line but also to our competitors or to the way we feel, then we may not reach the finish line in the time or condition that we had originally planned. If our attention is divided among those things, we will be distracted with discomfort, criticism, persecution, exhaustion, pain, or even boredom. In contrast with Fred Lorz who forfeited the prize for comfort, we have an example of a true victor. Jesus Christ “endured the cross.” Why? He endured “for the joy that was set before him.” Hours before His crucifixion, Jesus prayed, “not my will, but thine be done.” Christ’s focus was on the divine plan of “bringing many sons unto glory.” (Hebrews 2:10) How thankful must we be that Christ was focused on the Father and finished the race that was set before Him! If Christ would be willing to focus on God’s divine plan, surely, we can focus on Christ. We may not be the greatest athletes in the Christian race, but the good news is that we don’t have to exhaust ourselves trying to “be better.” Our endurance hinges on our focus on Christ who can do all things through us (Philippians 4:13). The only way for our faith to be greater than our fear is for our focus to be fixed on the Finisher of our faith.
Another encouragement Hebrews 12 gives us is the promise that God’s chastening in our lives will yield fruit. Hebrews 12:11 says, “Now no chastening for the present seemeth joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yeildeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” Just as we cannot expect good health or fitness without exercise, we cannot expect to see the “peaceable fruit of righteousness” without exercise. Sometimes part of our spiritual exercise program is what the Bible here calls chastening. The Strong’s Concordance defines this word as “the whole training and education of children” and “instruction that aims at the increase of virtue.” Chastening is part of God’s training program for us as His children. Just as with physical training for a race, our spiritual training may not always feel pleasant in the moment. But we can endure when we realize that the training has a purpose. Our training is taking us somewhere and it is preparing us for something that we may not even know about right now. What we can know is that God’s chastening in our lives will yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness.
If we are going to make good use of our training, we must beware of distractions that will cause us to lag or become lazy in our training. Hebrews 12:15 puts it this way, “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.” In other words, as with the race itself, our training requires focus on the reason we started running in the first place. If we are unaware of possible pitfalls, like bitterness, we may be wasteful with God’s grace.
And this brings us to a fourth encouragement for endurance in our Christian race—grace. God’s grace—His undeserved favor and supernatural help—is given abundantly all throughout this race. God’s supply of grace is not at all like the water supply that the 1904 Olympic marathoners were given. God’s grace is not offered only at two points during our race. No, God’s grace is more like a hydration pack on a runner’s back that he can drink from at any point during the race. This analogy only fails in that the hydration pack of God’s grace will never run empty. You can never drink up all of God’s grace! Hebrews 12 ends with these words, “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.” (Hebrews 12:28) God’s grace is not meant to make us lazy or unmotivated. Like water in a race, grace is meant to revitalize us. As verse 28 said, God’s grace is given so that we might “serve God acceptably.” Just as a runner with a reservoir of water on his back would not use that water thoughtlessly, so a Christian who grasps the significance of grace will not waste it on frivolous living. God gives us grace so that we can endure the Christian race.
The four encouragements that these Hebrew Christians were given to endure are the same for us today. We can endure because we are not alone in our race. The saints that went before us have lighted the way and Jesus Christ Himself is empathizing and running with us! We can endure when we focus on the Finisher of our faith, trusting Him to do the work through us. We can endure chastening (training) knowing that it will always yield good fruit in our lives. And we can endure for as long as God’s grace lasts. That is to say, forever.