My Most Expensive Cup of Coffee Ever

Several weeks ago I sat at this very table with this very intent in mind: to write a little about life and how some verses in Hebrews 12 were involved in my week. Then, in my second-most klutzy move of the year (the first being an impressive mountain bike crash), I spilled my entire mug of coffee onto our Macbook. The screen went black as the brew soaked down through the keyboard, and that was the end of that blog attempt and our computer. Talk about a pricy cup of coffee.

But here I am again, and after much ado I'll start again from Hebrews 12:1-2.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Last month I completed my first-ever triathlon – a sprint triathlon, which means it was a fairly short one. Nevertheless, it was a big deal for me, so I trained hard for it over the course of several months. The week of the triathlon our community group studied Hebrews chapter 12, and the verses above were absolutely appropriate.

. . . let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely . . .

Man, I don't know about you but I am not a spandex person. Not to reference sin which clings so closely, but it was a different feeling being tied into a pair of triathlon shorts; not wildly inappropriate, but still not something I'd walk around in on an average day. But you know, they were great for all three events of the race, and I can't imagine what it would be like to race in something really heavy, like a flannel shirt or winter boots. No one would ever race in clothing like that, silly! You think to yourself. Well of course not, but we Christians try to run with our baggage all the time. It might be sin, it might be the dead weight of the past. But we cannot follow Jesus well if we keep ourselves attached to it. This is a hearty reminder to me as it is to you.

. . . let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith . . .

My triathlon ended with a 2.5 mile run. By the time I got my shoes switched and started into it, my calves told me they'd had enough already. They cramped up as badly as I've ever experienced. Not only that, but physically and mentally I was beginning to fatigue a bit. From my limited training I've learned when that happens, to pick out a spot up ahead and tell myself, Run there. Whether outside or inside a gym I'll look ahead to the next landmark, run to it, then pick another landmark and run to that. It's a neat way to trick my mind into going further than it would otherwise. So that's what I did during the triathlon. Run to that building, run to the next road, run to the turnaround, run back to the building. Miserable as I felt, I just ran to one goal at a time, and eventually my next goal was the finish line.

I envy those people who have their lives planned out years in advance, and can simply walk ahead and presto! Things fall right into place. My personal experience has been more of a step-at-a-time process, like God is there saying, Run there, and when I do He says, Now run there. And the picture in this Bible passage is to keep our heads up and our gaze fixed on Jesus and ignore whatever else would pull us away from the goal.

There! I finally got these thoughts together, and if I can just hit that "Publish" button before I spill some more coffee...