Who will render to every man according to his deeds: [7] To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life
Romans 2:6-7 KJV
When thinking of the word Patience, it’s common to assume a state of waiting with little to no action. Romans 2:7 puts an interesting twist to this understanding by using the phrase “patient continuance in well-doing”. The verse is pretty much saying that those who patiently continue in well-doing, seeking for the glory, honour and immortality that comes from God alone are rewarded life eternal. Running with patience implies that our Christian journey or the race set before us is more of a long-distance race and a marathon than a sprint. A long-distance race requires constancy and endurance. There may be times of short bursts of speed and energy and times where the runner slows the pace. However, the runner keeps running.
Hebrews 12:1-3 describes this race that we have before us. It starts with showing veterans of the faith who have gone before us in Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11 ends by saying that despite their exploits on the track of faith, like a relay race, the race is not complete without us. This puts a sense of responsibility on us to run and run well. Hebrews 12:1 begins by letting us know that we are not alone in this race, we have those who have gone before us as examples we can learn from. Picture a person who is to run a race and an adversary that seeks to distract, entangle and thwart their course. This adversary comes as entanglements and shortcomings; weights that we must free ourselves from to run properly.
The writer of Hebrews however, did not suggest that we stop and focus on these weights to remove them. That in itself is the distraction. Jonah 2:8 says that those who observe lying vanities forsake their mercy. Lying vanities are anything God has not spoken of you, regardless of how real or tangible they feel. The writer of Hebrews shows us a way to get rid of these weights and ensure we continue to run without stopping. He says look to Jesus, the author, and finisher of your faith. This means to look away from these distractions and focus on Jesus. When we look at Him, we will see in Him what He saw that enabled Him to endure such spite and hatred from the men He came to save. We will see in Him what He saw that inspired Him to despise the shame and embrace the death of the worst kind of criminals, the cross. Looking at Him renews our strength and keeps us from being faint and weary.
In Jonah 2:6-10, the prophet was in a very dejected state, in the belly of a fish, after disobeying the command of God. However, in this state, he said “when my soul fainted, I remembered the Lord”. As he remembered the Lord, he removed his eyes from observing the state he was in. He chose to stop observing the lying vain state of dejection and, instead, praise the Lord. He said, “Salvation is of the Lord”. This was when the Lord commanded the fish to spew him out. To patiently continue in well-doing, is to seek that which is above where Christ is. To run the race with patience is to run with our eyes, heart, and mind fixed on things above and to despise the lying vanities all around us. The reward for this is eternal life.
Final thoughts: It is easy to look at the Christian faith and comment on the impossibility of commands like “Be ye perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect”. However, the Christian journey was meant to be as humanly impossible as walking on water, yet Peter did it. Not only Peter, but we also have a cloud of witnesses who have run this race and obtained their crown. As Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, He did the impossible. He walked on water, but as he began to observe the lying vanities, the storm, and the wind, he began to sink. Look to Jesus and renew your strength. Look to Jesus and live.
Prayer: Lord Jesus I look to You today for strength. I choose to trade my weaknesses for Your strength. I choose to observe all that You are and not lying vanities. What You say of me is what I will say. What You believe of me is what I will believe. Increase my faith oh Lord for You are the author and perfecter of my faith.
Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-3
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