"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" (Heb 12:1; KJV).

When we are born again as Christians we embark on a wonderful journey of faith, culminating in our transfer to heaven to be with the Lord forever (1 Peter 1:9). In the verse above from Hebrews Paul exhorts us to run the race. We don't just coast through life. Someone once told me that as Christians we are either growing or going backwards in our walk with God, never standing still.

Our verse from Hebrews tells us we need to lay aside the weights and sins that can slow, distract, or hold us back in our growth and maturation as Christians. We need focus and discipline just like the athlete who trains to win a race (1 Cor 9:24). We all know what sin is but weights are the distractions of life. Some of them may be good things but if they are not kept in proper priority, or even removed from our lives, they can slow, or even stop the progress and growth in our Christian walk.

We need to be single minded and focused in our walk with God and continuously examining what we call priorities. As Paul said, all things are permissible for me but not all things are useful (1 Cor 10:23). In other words, many of our goals may seem good to us but do they take us where God wants us to go? In the end we all need to be able to say, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith" (2 Tim 4:7 KJV).

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