Today we continue our focus on Hebrews 12, where the writer encourages us to pursue a race with endurance that leads to a finish line of Christ.

Hebrews 12 (Common English Bible)

12 So then, with endurance, let’s also run the race that is laid out in front of us, since we have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us. Let’s throw off any extra baggage, get rid of the sin that trips us up, ² and fix our eyes on Jesus, faith’s pioneer and perfecter. 

We notice is that verse references “the race that is laid out in front of us.” Just stop for a moment and consider that. This is a reassurance that God has a path, a way, a journey already laid out for us. Not in the predestination sense of the word; as Methodists, we don’t believe in predestination. We understand this more in a prevenient grace kind of way, like the grace that is spelled out in Jeremiah 29:11. In other words, God has a plan for your life, it is a plan to prosper you and not harm you, and it is a plan to give you a future with hope. If you run your life between the cones and follow God’s plan, you are sure to cross the finish line with grace.

That’s why we are instructed to lay aside any weight or sin that would keep us from being all that God is calling us to be. Verse 1b says: Let’s throw off any extra baggage, get rid of the sin that trips us up. Old baggage and sin will always cause you to go off course and stray from the lane that leads to a good finish.

I’m reminded of a story my husband tells about a time when he was at the airport in Tokyo moving from one plane to another in his Delta Air Lines uniform. He was walking down the hallway when he noticed a very small Japanese woman struggling with an overloaded cart filled suitcases and bags. Every time she seemed to make a little progress, another bag would slide off the top and fall onto the ground and she would have to stop and reload the cart. He approached her and offered to help, mostly using hand signals since they didn’t speak each other’s language. Maybe she mistook him for a porter! In any case, they finally got a plan for her to carry two of the bags that kept falling while he pushed her baggage cart all the way to her final destination.

I love that visual. Baggage can be overwhelming and definitely impedes your forward progress. We do well as a church to remember that we are called to help each other with our baggage issues. Every single person reading this has some kind of baggage that impedes their forward progress. Past history, past trauma, past poor choices, family dynamics, grief, addiction, struggles with body image, anger, resentment, abuse … we carry a lot, don’t we? 

The writer simply says to throw it off. Easier said than done, isn’t it? Many folks can spend years trying to throw off old baggage. But no matter how long it takes, it is worth the effort.

Jesus came to be our Baggage Claim. He stands at the ready to take the heaviness of everything that slows us down and prevents us from pursuing the path he has laid out for us. All we need do is ask.

Are you able to name your baggage? Can you ask the Lord to come and claim it from you?

May we find ways to ensure our continuing the race with clarity, forgiveness for ourselves and others, and the freedom to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

The Path Laid Out