Free To Fly

“Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1

The early air December air was cool—no, it was cold, but many layers kept me warm as I waited for the race to begin. At the sound of the gun I was off, and as the minutes and miles passed by, so were my extra clothes. The road behind me would have resembled a garage sale gone bad if my kind husband hadn’t slowed his pace to run beside me for support—and storage. I suppose I could have covered the distance carrying my excess equipment, but it would have weighed me down and slowed me down.

“Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us”(Hebrews 12:1). Whatever weighs you down, holds you back, and trips you up in the race of life needs to go. “Let us throw off everything that hinders,” our Hebrews track coach demands. “Everything” leaves no room for hanging onto anything which impedes your progress. Shame and regret from the past or anxiety and fear of the future all must go. Obsession with the temporary or desire for your own happiness over God’s holiness must also be discarded. Laziness, lack of discipline, and misplaced focus should be shed quickly and decisively.

Some things do more than slow us down; they trip us up. “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.” Once again our trainer chooses a word which encompasses an entire spectrum—this time of sin. Sin takes many forms and shows up in many ways, but at its root, sin is selfishness—choosing ourselves or someone else over God. Pride, lust, greed, rage, gossip, bitterness, envy, impatience, rudeness, unkind words, and an uncaring heart are just a few of the creeping vines we allow to wind around our ankles (and our attitudes). We might able to stumble forward as we drag them along, but we can never run until we clip, cut, yank, and pull—whatever it takes to entangle ourselves from our sin. By God’s Spirit and by His grace, we have the power to run free and fit.

God has a race marked out for each of His children, and He wants us to pass the mile markers of life at a good, strong pace. It’s time to strip down to the essentials of the Gospel—God’s amazing grace and His unfailing love—and be free to fly.