By Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-G00630 / Unknown / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, Link

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart."  – Hebrews 12:1-3

We do not need any extra weight if we are in it to win it.

The stadium is full; the witnesses are cheering and sitting on the edges of their seats; the runners are ready to run.

None of the athletes is dragging a cart behind them, or carrying a backpack, or is even over-clothed. They are ready to travel light and fast.

They are not looking at the crowds or side to side. Their eyes are fixed on the finish life where the originator of the race awaits. They are focuses on the place where the man stands who will declare the race finished.

Sin weighs us down and besets us at every turn.

It is our enemy.

It lives in our flesh and will take every opportunity we give it to distract, sidetrack, and derail us from the way that God has set before us.

But sin is rendered impotent by the power of God and when we exercise focus on Jesus Christ by grace, we find the place of repentance and renewal.

We have not, will not, and will not be called upon to endure what Jesus endured. We cannot bear what He bore, but neither do we bear our own burdens and temptations alone.

It is His power within us that triumphs in the struggle with sin and it is His merciful and gracious love that forgives us when we fail and holds out the hope of a new start. Jesus, I trust in Your life through me to overcome the sin that so easily besets me.

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith …”  Hebrews 12:2

We are reminded of who Jesus is and what our response to Him must be. He is the author of faith. Faith originates with Him in its content of our faith and in our capacity to embrace it and live it.  Our response is to look unto Him.

This is an ideal time to look unto Jesus, to turn every distraction of the world into an attraction for our response to Him.

Looking to Jesus is not a passive, passing glance of recognition, but an act of wholehearted seeking whereby we exercise stillness and movement at the same time.

Looking unto Jesus involves every dimension of who we are: intellectually, physically, relationally, spiritually, emotionally, and socially.

We cannot seek Him from a position of indifference or from a heart of cynicism. It must be the primary activity of our life to look unto Jesus.

But you ask how, and it is a dangerous question to answer.

It is dangerous because any answer might be seen as a formula and this is not a matter of following a formula. Seeking Jesus is a state of mind and heart. It is a predisposition. It is an approach to everything we do, think, and feel.

Nevertheless, there are some pointers.

We encounter the written Word of God in the scriptures. So that is a place of seeking.

We commune with Him in prayer, so that is another.

We are called to see Him in others, so we might look unto Him in our relationships.

The same is true for opportunities to serve, songs of worship, the glories of creation, the arts, and every other thing we see, hear, or experience.

The call is to look unto Him in everything. As we look unto Him, He completes our faith.

So, we keep running and focusing and focusing and running, laying aside all of the distractions and pressing on.

There is a prize and the One who holds the prize is anxious to see us at the finished line.