The idea that a Christian is to endure in this physical life is certainly not peculiar to this one passage.\u00a0 For example, the apostle Paul wrote in I Corinthians 9:24:\u00a0“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize?\u00a0 Run in such a way that you may win.”<\/em>\u00a0 When one becomes a Christian, he or she has entered the race that is designed to culminate in heaven.\u00a0 Certainly, we understand that this race of life does require endurance and that we need to be in it for the long haul, so to speak.\u00a0 In fact, Paul realized that he himself needed to exercise due diligence as we see in I Corinthians 9:27:\u00a0“But I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”<\/em><\/p>\n Notice also the exhortation found in Philippians 3:12-14:\u00a0“Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.\u00a0 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”<\/em>\u00a0 What a tremendous attitude this is for every Christian to embrace.\u00a0 As long as there is the breath of life within us, we need to press on with endurance for that heavenly prize that awaits.<\/p>\n The end result of our endurance is beautifully summed up in the words of II Timothy 4:7-8: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”<\/em>\u00a0 If we faithfully endure in this life, fighting the good fight, finishing the course, and keeping the faith, the reward will be far beyond anything we can possibly imagine.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Dennis Stackhouse We have a wonderfully challenging statement given to us in Hebrews 12:1:\u00a0“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”\u00a0 How…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1161],"class_list":["post-46445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-endurance"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":88642,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-so-hard\/","url_meta":{"origin":46445,"position":0},"title":"Is It So Hard?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by David Gibson Does the Christian life at times seem more than you can bear? May these thoughts from Hebrews chapter 12 encourage you! Others Have Overcome \"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [the heroes of faith in chapter 11], let us also lay\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28271,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/perfection-or-perseverance\/","url_meta":{"origin":46445,"position":1},"title":"Perfection or Perseverance?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 5, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Ken Green \"Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/runner-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":84038,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-race\/","url_meta":{"origin":46445,"position":2},"title":"The Race","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 4, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton \"The race that is set before us\" (Hebrews 12:1) is the marathon of all marathons, the life-long run to finish without giving up. It is the race to receive the ultimate reward. The prize is more than worth the discipline, so the motivation to enter this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20862,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/little-by-little\/","url_meta":{"origin":46445,"position":3},"title":"Little by Little","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 15, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Wayne Fancher Exodus 23:30 Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land. Proverbs 13:11 Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow. I. Spiritual Growth Little By Little Ephesians 4:13\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15210,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/where-does-god-promise-a-husband\/","url_meta":{"origin":46445,"position":4},"title":"Where does God promise a husband?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 3, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If one is expected to wait for sex until marriage, where does God promise a husband? I'm tired of waiting for 37 years. I just had to fend off a married, now divorced, minister. He is still in the pulpit. He was separated, which I understood was meant for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29474,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/notes-on-sports\/","url_meta":{"origin":46445,"position":5},"title":"Notes on Sports","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 4, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Few engaged in activities purely for entertainment. Sports served practical purposes in gathering food or protection. However, some of these activities were done for competition and the winning of a prize. Competition 1 Corinthians 9:25 \"And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Notes","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46445"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46445\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Runner-180x300.png\")
The writer also gives us some insight as to how we can successfully navigate this race.\u00a0 Notice that we are to\u00a0“lay aside every encumbrance.”<\/em>\u00a0 These would be things that weigh us down, things that impede our progress.\u00a0 In addition, we must be watchful for the\u00a0“sin which so easily entangles us.”<\/em>\u00a0 We live in a world of evil and must never underestimate that, nor the power of the evil one.\u00a0 It seems that identifying these encumbrances and sins would be basic to removing them from our lives, thus allowing us to endure until the race is completed.<\/p>\n