Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 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 has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
In writing this entry, I saw something for the first time about these well-known verses. Reading them in the context of the completion of chapter 11 and the examples of faith and fortitude in the face of severe persecution and adversity, I read these sentences with an emphasis on the word “us”. Let’s look at them again, and read them aloud.
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 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 has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
If it struck you the same as it struck me, it was a call to say, “Look, these people from chapter 11 did this without the hope of the promise in their lifetimes. As they look on, let us do what they did but with the living hope of Christ in us.”
How do we run this race? How do we lay aside every weight of religion and bondage? How do we escape sin that easily ensnares us? Very often, we try to overcome these things by focusing on them. After all, it makes worldly sense that in order to solve a problem, one should study the problem closely. The drawback to that approach is that there is a spiritual principle that says that we become like what we focus on.
Psalm 115:4-8 says:
Their idols are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
5 They have mouths, but they do not speak;
Eyes they have, but they do not see;
6 They have ears, but they do not hear;
Noses they have, but they do not smell;
7 They have hands, but they do not handle;
Feet they have, but they do not walk;
Nor do they mutter through their throat.
8 Those who make them are like them;
So is everyone who trusts in them.
When we focus on the wrong things, we become like them. But we see that the same is true when we look at the right thing according to 2 Corinthians 3:18:
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
The way of the world is to work your way out of a problem. But in God’s Kingdom, we are called to rest and focus on Jesus. The more we behold Him, the more we become like Him. The more we bask in unmerited favor, the more we receive the gift of righteousness, the more we reign in life according to Romans 5:17.
Jesus knew how to focus on the right thing. We see in verse two of today’s passage that “for the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, despising the shame.” That means that Jesus did not pay attention to the shame of His situation because He was focused on the reward. He was focused on you and me and the fellowship that He was restoring with the Father. And He focused on the seat that awaited Him at the right hand of God.
Here’s something amazing about grace. Jesus is our perfect substitute. Even when we fall short in our ability to look beyond a struggle to the reward, if we can just remember to look at Jesus, He has already perfectly succeeded in looking ahead for us. We might not exercise perfect faith, but if we can keep our eyes on Him, the perfect faith that He authored, He will also perfect. In other words, fixing our eyes on Jesus will accomplish perfect faith in us. Brave grace today by focusing on Him alone.
Braving Grace 