THE RACE MARKED OUT FOR US

The writer of Hebrews points out that we must persevere. That walking the daily Christian life is a relay race. Abraham, Sarah and a host of others (" a great cloud of witnesses" Heb 12:1) who have gone before have handed off the baton to us. And we'll pass it on to those who come after us.

We have to throw off things that hinder us when we run. Red Sox star Manny Ramirez wears long braids called dredlocks. Maybe it's spelled dreadlocks, and maybe it should be because they do look dreadful, Manny. He also wears a do rag. What does it do? Holds the dreadlocks, of course. The problem is, as there are lots of problems with being hip/ with dressing in the current vogue, he also must wear his batting helmet on top of the locks and do. When he runs the bases, he is forced to remove his helmet. At least he does. Maybe he fears he'll be top heavy. On two plays, he was thrown out because he had to take time to throw off his helmet. It didn't matter--the Sox won both games, Manny earned another ring for his tremendous hitting. But as in Hebrews (you wondered when I would get back from the rabbit trail) we, too, must throw off excess weight, excess bulk that distract or slow us down.

What's our dreadlocks, our do rag? Well, the same as Manny's--sin. Sin entangles (no more dreadlocks allusions). Sin detracts and causes us to lose focus. We must fix our eyes on Jesus. He is the author. The perfecter of the race. He designed it.

Hebrews 10:23 reminds us to hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. Or simply, keep on keeping on. Fight the good fight; run the good race. It's a daily race, not just the time we spend in worship on Sunday. Go ahead. Take the baton. It's your turn. Now run.