Race in a Race

This article is neither to dispel nor support anyone’s assertion of whether life is a race or nay. This article is written based on personal intuition and inspiration with some biblical supports.

During an embryological class many years back, our lecturer while taken us through the intestinal developmental stages, says one of the things that would help us remember the internal embryological development is to always remember that the phase of intestinal development “is a loop within a loop”.

This article is telling us something akin to this, it is showing that something is enclosed within another thing of similar configuration. They may be of the same size or one would be bigger than the other.

The race that I want to write about in this article is talking about the life of man as a race. However, we should recall that life has varying subsections. Some of the examples of the subsections of life include, physical life, mental (psychological) life, spiritual life, financial life, marital life amongst others.

It is no hidden knowledge that physical life is what is seen on the outside and this essentially is what people usually talk about before digging deep into other aspects of man’s life. It is therefore sensible to say that it is this physical life that encloses other aspects of humans’ life. Other aspects of human life could be seen as the life that is enclosed within the physical life of a person.

I will be using the book of Hebrews 12:1 for the purpose of this write-up.

I will want us to see some definitions of the words that I like to dwell on in this article.

(i) Definition of Life: Life is defined as a period between somebody’s birth and death. It can also be defined with relation to a period in a particular situation or job. It is also said to be a period when something exists.

(ii) Definition of Race: A competition between people, animals, vehicles, etc. to see which one is faster or fastest or a situation in which some people are competing for something.

Race in Greek is called “ἀγών”, Romanised form is agōn (phonetic spelling is ag-one') a place of assembly where a contest is held

It is also called gradior, gressus which could mean a running – that is a rapid course or motion, either on the feet, horseback, carriage etc. particularly, a contest in running, a running competition for a prize. It is said to be one of the exercises of the Grecian games – and it also means a progress, a course, a movement or progression of any kind.

There are certain things that is common in any race whatsoever globally, and they include the followings among other special features that a game has that makes is unique from others.

1. Start point/time: All games have a starting point. For if there is no starting point how would we know or measure the game effectively and efficiently.

2. End point/time: When something has a beginning, it will have an ending. The bible also says there is time for everything under the heaven.

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:” (Ecc. 3:1)

3. The Day that the competition would be held: Usually the day that the competition would be held would be conveyed to the participants so that there won’t be misconstruing on the part of anyone. And if there would be a change in the day, the same would be conveyed to them.

4. There would be Participants: If there are no participants there can’t be a race. For all race there would be participants.

5. Jurist/umpire: There would be judges who would see to the affair of the game and the race, the judges who are expected to discharge their duties without favoring anyone, without bias.

6. Spectators: As it was in the ancient times, that there are spectators watching what the person wants to do, the same do happen in a race to add life to the game. Bible students would recall that the first of such happened to Samson in the bible as the spectators who were the Philistines gathered to watch him play.

7. Registration time: These days, after the message has been conveyed to the people, countries they would open the website or whatever for the participants to start registering for the game. This may involve payment of a token which essentially would be small compared to what the person who wins the game would win.

8. Laws Guiding the Race: The laws guiding the race are expected to be known by all participants, and in case there is a change to any of the rules they would pass the message across too to them for fair play.

9. Prizes Would be won: Essentially almost all race if not all have prizes that would be won by the winner and sometimes, they would add consolatory prizes for those who tried but couldn’t win the game.

10. Preparatory Time (or Trainings): Before a race commences there is usually a time for training, individuals who are interested in competing would embark on training to ensure that they succeed in the competition.

From the definition of life we see that life could be seen as a period in a particular situation or period when something exists. In this physical race, we have different sections of it which include the academic time, marital time etc.

- Starting and Ending Points of Physical Race

When viewing life as a race all the stated features of a race is also enmeshed in life being a race. The starting point of the physical race occurs when the spermatozoa of a male fuses with the ova of the female to become a gamete. It is from this time that life has started. Albeit, it was still hidden to the people, but within the person carrying the fetus, she knows that something is happening within her which essentially is different from the normal way things used to be with her before.

After an average of nine months according to studies, the fetus would be delivered. The time when the baby is delivered is often considered as the starting point by some people.

Be that as it may, the child continues to grow until the time she or he gives up the ghost and that is the ending point for the life, for the race the person has came to the world to run. Because the bible says, it is appointed for men once to die, after which is judgment.

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:” (Heb. 9:27)

- Time for Other Features

The time or phase that other features of a race falls to happens in between the starting point and the ending points. In other words, the phases are sandwiched in-between those two periods.

Take as instance the preparatory time for the physical race, this occurs at early stage of humans’ life, when children are with their parents, guardians, in the orphanage homes and so on. During this time the minds of children are still malleable, it is then that their minds would be prepared for challenges ahead by various things that they would be hearing from their leaders – parents, elder ones etc.

The prizes attached to physical race also varies, but by and large what we all hope for is having a well lived life such that after we are long gone, we shall be desirable our lives shall still be speaking to the people.

“Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years, and departed without being desired. Howbeit they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchres of the kings.” (2 Ch. 21:20)

King Jehoram is the one being referred to here, that he died being desired by the people. E-Sword in her commentary says, “without being desired” in Hebrew means that he is, “without being regretted. No one wished him to live any longer. He was hated while he lived and neglected when he died”.

No one wishes to live the kind of life this king lived in the world, those who are evil doers still hope for a better ending they hope to leave behind some legacies, which people would be following. That is the chief of all the prized all of us run after to acquire in the world leaving a positive memorial behind which people would be referring to after we are gone.

However, the author of the book of Ecclesiastes posited in his account that what betide evil doers sometimes betide those who legally pursue their race on the earth, he thence calls this a mystery, a surprise in the vain world.

“There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.” (Ecc. 8:14)

Despite the occurrence of this misnomer in the world, we still know that the good judge who is Yahweh does not misjudge like the people of the world, he judges rightly and even if the good ones have negative ending they would yet be positively acknowledged in the world to come because God does not see as the people see.

“But the LORD said unto Samuel, look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart” (1 Sa. 16:7)

Man, judges wrongly because we look at the outside, but the Lord judges rightly because he looks and sees the hearts. It is for this wrong judgments associated with the physical that makes the end of some good people to end in disaster, because men are supposed to repay men in the world with the influence of some powers, but this mistake commonly made by men couldn’t be made by God, because he considers other aspects of man, and most essentially the spiritual aspect of man.

Having seen the race that is commonly viewed by men of the world which is the physical race, it is good to know that another race is sandwiched in this physical race which is the spiritual race. It is this spiritual race that is sandwiched in between the physical that I want to talk about as being presented by the author of the book of Hebrews in the bible.

It is this second race that allows God to judge rightly, it is this other race within the physical that makes God a supreme judge unlike the physical jurists of the world who look at the physical alone. This is the race that God looks at that makes him talk to Prophet Samuel that he does not look as humans look (1 Sam. 16:7).

Shall we see some things about this spiritual race within the physical race that we all are running in the world?

It is good to know that this spiritual race is divided into two, christian race and others. It is the christian race that I like to talk about here. Truly, all humans’ been composed of spirit, soul and body run spiritual race,

“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.” (Mar 12:30)

Jesus is herein talking about the makeup of all humans on earth, that we are made up of heart, soul, mind and body (strength).

As stated that within the features of a race that a good race will provide for all participants level playground for all without discrimination, the Lord has provided for us all the same thing so that there won’t be excuse that it is because I do not have a mind, neither a soul that is why I couldn’t run the race that I have been invited to or that is why I did not yield to the invitation.

Based on this, I want you to know that this write-up is not based on the entire spiritual race, but it is focusing the christian aspect of the spiritual race.

When a research is being carried out, in a community, the researcher would have control experiment with which he or she would weigh his documentations and statistical details. This race that I am focusing on is like a control one for others spiritually.

This race is though for every humans’ in the world, but it should be noticed that it is not everyone in the world who is running the race. Why is it not everyone in the world that is running the race? Someone may want to ask. The reason I said it is not everyone that is running this race is that for anyone to run this race the person must have a starting time, an enrollment time as stated above that all race has its features. One of the features is starting time and or time for registration, time for enrollment.

All of us have been begotten into the world of a truth and we are all running physical race, but it is not all of us who are running this race. To be one of those who will be running this race, the person would have at a time or another given himself to Jesus Christ.

It is after someone has given himself to Jesus Christ that such a one can be called a christian. We should know that Christianity cannot be inherited, it is not a position that can be passed on to one’s subjects, because I am born into a christian home or that my parents are Christians, pastors etc., this does not make the person a christian. A christian is someone who has conscientiously and willingly given himself to the Lord Jesus Christ at a time in his life,

The period when the person gives himself to Jesus is the period of his enrollment, the period that he is given birth to spiritually, the starting point of the person.

Think about this for a moment, there are many games in the world, but it is not all the games that one would enter for during a competition. Some people may even know the game very well but because of a reason or another the person would not enroll for the competition. The person who does not enroll for the competition can in no way be considered for a reward after the end of the game even if he be the world record holder of the game.

That is how it is with the issue of salvation. It is the person who has decided to give himself to Jesus Christ that is considered for this race. Therefore, the apostle when writing this book centered his letter to those who have been saved, those who have given themselves to Jesus Christ.

Some used to say they are in between, they will say, they are standing on the fence.

The cuticle or hard substances released would seal off all entrances into the egg, prevent other sperms from entering the egg again. It is either a sperm fertilizes the egg or losses out and dies thereafter.

In the same vein is the issue of salvation. A person would either give himself to Jesus or would not, there is nothing like standing on the fence, there is nothing like one leg in, one leg-out in this issue. You are either saved or nay.

You have another grace to become one of the Christians today, and this you can do if you are yet to be saved by repenting of your sins and give your life to Jesus Christ. He is imploring you to please come to him and I in the strongest possible terms implore thee to please go to Jesus today, his arms are wide open to accept, embrace and welcome you to himself.

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;” (Act. 3:19)

now some pregnancies got aborted due to a reason or another. Can we say the aborted pregnancy has started the physical race? No the pregnancy does not get to the point of starting physically although he started at the fetal level but couldn’t proceed beyond that time.

The apostle in his documentation of this christian race says there are spectators watching us as we run this race.

“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)

Some bible scholars say those spectators are the created objects of God like firmament, seas and so on. Another author says, the spectator being talked about here are those ancient patriarchs who have ran the race and successfully completed the race. They are people of faith, because according to the author he says, this word in this first verse closely followed his sayings on faith in the eleventh chapter, that he is building on those words of faith that those ancient patriarchs he stated above who have wholly followed God by their actions, by daring to follow what they believed was right which others during their dispensations considered lies and fallacies but after it all they became vindicated are those who are looking at us as we run the race, they are the “great cloud of witnesses”.

As those witnesses are looking at us, we are enjoined to run the race as it ought to be ran. If the race is not run as it ought to be ran, we shall be disqualified from the race. This is what apostle Paul was saying to the saints in Corinthians, that he is also running the race as it should be ran.

“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.

“But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” (1 Co. 9:24 & 27)

Taken our minds back to the book of Genesis as an example we shall recall that when the first man and woman failed to run the race before them as stipulated in the manual given to them, they were disqualified and excommunicated from the garden.

“Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

“So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.” (Gen 3:23-24)

It is the same with this race, when we fail to run it as expected, it is certain that we shall be disqualified from the race.

In ensuring that we become a success in this race, the author of the book of Hebrews told us that there are rules for us to follow, and those rules are:

To be a success in the race, which he himself is a part of, the author states in unmistaken terms that we shall need to lay off some things.

“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)

Lay aside is written in Greek as “ἀποτίθημι”, romanised form is apotithēmi, (pronounced as ap-ot-eeth'-ay-mee), this word means to put away, cast off.

Since he was writing the Hebrew saints that they need to view the christian race alongside the common or general physical race that all humans are running, he is telling them that they need to cast off some things along this path.

When they say cast something off, it means to put that thing away like a dung, like a garbage that is totally abhorred and having nothing to do with it again.

It needs to be stated that a good sportsman, would indubitably put away some things if he wants to succeed in the field he has chosen. The apostle is presenting the Christian race in that light.

He says, what they should cast off is what he considers weight. Thus, he emphasizes that they need to cast off “every weight”.

“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)

It should be stated that when one is running a race or in fact in any sports at that, additional weights are usually problems to the sportsmen. This is the reason why sportsmen usually wish to look fit and smart as possible. Additional weights are problems because it would reduce the speed of the sportsmen. Even in boxing and wrestling where weights are needed it shouldn’t be in excess for being in excess would not allow the person to optimally perform.

In the heavyweight boxing fight between Anthony Joshua (a Nigerian and United Kingdom national) and Andy Ruiz Jr. in June 2019, Ruiz after losing the match said he lost the match because of his weight, which affected his speed.

There are different interpretations to what this weight means by different scholars of the bible.

However, it is said that Arabic Version of this verse states that, “…every weight of luxury”. Luxury is defined as a state of great comfort or elegance, especially when involving great expense.

When we are in great comfort sometimes we may not remember others, we would think lowly of others, we shall think it is by our might that we possess all we have possessed and that others lack the expertise and knowledge to acquire or possess what we have possessed, but we shall fail to recollect what the bible says, that chance happens to them all.

“I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.” (Ecc. 9:11)

Sometimes our luxury would prevent us from going out for evangelism, for we shall be thinking that how and what shall people be saying for seeing us associating with the downtrodden in the society. We need to recollect that they said that to Jesus Christ too that he was eating with the sinners.

“The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.” (Mat. 11:19)

Is this saying that Christians are not expected to be rich? No, this is not what it means, what this is saying is that if a christian places luxury at the apex of his or her heart he may not be able to attend to things that matter in the Kingdom.

Pastor Henry Ford (a retired American Baptist Pastor of blessed memory) in one of his books stated that there was a young man who was zealous for the work of God, and who attends all programmes in the church but he was jobless, soon enough he secured job and rose to the top position in the company, but now he hardly have time for the things of the Gospel again.

When this man is asked for the reason why he couldn’t make it to the church, he would say it was because of his work.

One day the pastor said he told him after given him some offerings to pay into the church that he returned the offering back to him that, God does not need his money like his heart, if it is his job that would prevent him from worshiping the Lord, he should keep the money and the job till he has time to be worshiping with the brethren. He said he saw his folly and repented.

Anyone who places luxury at the apex of his heart is like a person who loves money, and the bible says the love of money is the root of all evils.

“For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (1 Ti. 6:10)

Love of luxury is a weight that would prevent us from running the race as it should be ran.

Ellicott in his commentary says unnecessary clothing, shoe and so on. Therefore, sportsmen would put on clothing that would not hinder them from optimally performing at the sporting arena. When we do things in excess in the world it may hinder us from doing what God wants us to do.

“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)

Sometimes the use of our spiritual gifts could be in excess that it would be like a weight by which we may put other’s faith in danger.

The Greek word for weight here is “ὄγκος”, Romanized form is ogkos (pronounced as ong'-kos) which means a mass, burden. Anything that we know that would be hindrance to our faith we should leave. What we view as hindrance may not be hindrance to other people. This shows that we are not the same in the world, we are different from one another.

We should not become a stumbling block on the path of others through our knowledge neither those things which the Lord has given unto us as stated by apostle Paul in Corinthians.

“And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?

“But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.

“Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.” (! Co 8:11-13)

The author knows that sins have been separating man from God and God from man from the time immemorial and it is because of this that God has sent his son to the world to remove sins.

“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)

Greek word for sin here is “ἁμαρτία”, Romanized form is hamartia (pronounced as ham-ar-tee'-ah) which could also mean offence. He, therefore, counsels, that we should also cast-off sins, offences that would put us at war with God, offenses that would make God to disqualify us from the race. MacLaren says all forms of sin should be cast-off.

The author while expatiating this further says to the saints the kind of sin he was talking about, having known that they have been washed by the blood of the lamb and that they cannot easily go back into sin again because it would not be easy for them to do that since they have been born of God.

“Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” (1 Jn 3:9)

The type of sin he was talking about is the sin which easily besets man.

“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)

Greek word for besetting is “εὐπερίστατος”, Romanized form is euperistatos (phonetic spelling is yoo-per-is'-tat-os) which means well standing around, thwarting in every direction.

Since he was addressing the Jews, he may be talking about putting the worship of Judaism first which ought not to be since they have been redeemed by Jesus blood, old Testament should be done away with.

We sometimes fall into this category too when we view some people as belonging to certain sect in faith and we fail to see Jesus in their lives and redemption again. When we see ourselves as holier than the rest of believers, we may be in some kinds of problems too. It is a common sin for believers to look at some people as if they cannot be saved again, we ourselves have forgotten that we are saved by grace not by the works which we have executed for if it be by works, we shall not be saved.

Arabic version says of this place that it is sin that is “…easy to be committed”. And when thinking along this line we shall see that one of the sins that is easy to be committed by believers is sin of doubt, unbelief. Think about the incident that happened to Zechariah and Elisabeth. I believe they had been praying for the fruit of the womb for long, albeit when they had reached the peak of their lives with nothing forthcoming about answering their prayers, they lost hope and their only thought was expecting the day they would die.

In the meanwhile, because God was a God of timing, when the time to answer them be clicked before him, he sent his angel to go and deliver the message to the priest, but when the angel reached him, he doubted, and for the doubt he was punished for months

This could happen to us too, when we have been expecting God to do something for us for years, but in the stead of receiving answers to those things what we were seeing is setbacks, when the time to answer us be clicked and God speaks to us, we may be recalcitrant to do what he says or not even doing it at all because of our doubts, because we have waited and waited and had lost hopes of it happening to us again and we shall be laughing within ourselves as did Sarah.

To this kind of unbelief, which is common to anyone in the world, we should desist and lay them aside, cast them away from us, lest it becomes a stumbling block to what we want to receive from, the Lord.

And in case we have fallen into such we can retrace ourselves out of the miry pit of such position.

Think about this for a second, when a sportsman is practicing or training for a competition this is what his coach (instructor) would be telling him to be doing so that when such has become part and parcel of him it won’t be issues when the competition earnestly started.

In the same vein is the apostle telling those people and by extension those of us that we should be shedding those weights, casting off those sins. He expects that those would be done in the secrets of our lives and sooner than expected would become part and parcel of our lives such that it won’t affect us while running the race before us.

“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)

Many of us have difficulties in the christian race because we are not sincerely living a christian life in our closets it is when we come out that we want to show off, we want others to see us as Christians we act like the pharisees and the scribes as Jesus says. Our closets matter, it is there that we can shed off those and then when we come out running the race, we shall run legally, unblameably and would be rewarded at the end of it all.

Our prize for this race is Jesus, thus, the author says, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our race.

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb. 12:2)

Jesus himself while in the world stated clearly that the price to be won is with him that is why he says he is going off the world to prepare the place for us so that where he is, we shall equally be.

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

“In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (Joh 14:1-3)

Therefore, the apostle counsels that we should fix our gaze on things above only where Jesus is.

“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” (Col 3:1-2)

cannot be run in isolation from the physical (life) race therefore, the author of this book enjoins all believers that as we run the race, we should be careful, be patient and fix our gaze on Jesus so that when people are seeing us as we are running the race in the other race, I mean physical race, they would be able to glorify our father in heaven and could at the end of it all say that of a truth these are Christians who lived their lives for their God and his Jesus in all their endeavors on earth.