"Set Out To Seek Jesus" -2

"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, 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." (Hebrews 12:1 & 2) To be totally honest, the race that I feel that I have been running is more like a fun-run; you know what I mean? There are those that set out to win, and there are those that run for the fun of it. They are the ones that you might see running with friends in a small pack; talking and having a laugh or two, as they patiently stride down the road, usually towards the end of the mass of runners, but never in the front. To lay aside every weight and sin is not something that really needs to be done if you are not running to win; but if winning the race is your goal, then you are going to want anything gone that can hinder your ability to perform well, and to finish well! If you have ever performed in endurance sports, you will know exactly what I am talking about. I use to do a lot of bicycling, and would challenge myself to always do better than I had before, on each and every ride; never really setting out to be the first one to finish, but to finish well. In an event of 300 or more people, I could usually finish in the top 25; and every once in awhile, the top ten; but my intention was never to finish first, because I could not see myself beating my own personal best by that much; which was usually about 20 minutes in a 100 mile ride. Twenty minutes might not seem like much, but when you are talking about riding for 100 miles, it could be the difference between being first and twenty fifth. However, if I really wanted to train myself to win, I know I could have become skilled enough to win; which is what it would have required, skill, which means trained. There is only one way that we can become trained in anything, and that is by training and training and training some more; but by all means, we never stop training because we fail, we train harder to succeed; that is if we actually want to win...