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. (Heb 12:1)It starts with "therefore," but who is this "great cloud of witnesses"? The "therefore" tells us that he's referring to those who went before -- chapter 11. This "great cloud of witnesses" is a reference to the "Halls of Faith" people in Hebrews 11. They are the witnesses that surround us. So ...?
He says we should do likewise. "Let us also ..." What did this cloud of witnesses from the "faith chapter" do? They laid aside every encumbrance and sin which so easily entangles us and they ran with endurance the race before them. So, you do that, too.
I had never thought of Hebrews 11 in this light. These faith folks were walking in faith, obviously, but this verse paints it in a new light. We understand the need to set aside sins. We get that. But we're also supposed to lay aside "encumbrances." They are, apparently, not the same as sins. They are, then, things that aren't necessarily sin, but they are slowing us down in our faith walk. Like what?
Look at Abraham (Heb 11:8-10). God told him to leave his family and go to a place he had never seen. He laid aside the people and places he knew and obeyed in faith. Encumbrances. Take Sarah (Heb 11:10). She believed that a woman of her age could not have children. Reasonable belief. But she laid it aside by faith. Encumbrances. Take Abel (Heb 11:4). He laid aside his life on faith. Encumbrances. Or how about this one? Abraham offered his son, Isaac, to God (Heb 11:15-19). Abraham's son, Isaac, was an encumbrance to Abraham's faith walk. He laid it aside. Encumbrances.
We understand that we need to lay aside sin. It is an entanglement. It gets in the way. It hinders our relationship with God, blocks our prayers, damages our minds, and clouds our vision. We're clear on that. What I think we often miss is that we can easily allow neutral and even good things to become hindrances. It's good to love our spouses, our children, our families, for instance, but when they eclipse our love and devotion to God, they are "encumbrances." Laying them aside doesn't mean losing them or even leaving them. When Abraham laid aside the encumbrance of his promised son, he did so believing that God was able to raise him from the dead (Heb 11:19). He wasn't going to lose him; he was giving him up to God. We should also consider what good things we carry around that might stand in the way of a faithful run to Jesus. Some of them might surprise us.
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