ConsideredCross

I finished tying the laces on my bright orange Nikes and put on my red, white, and blue racing singlet. I toed the line, elbow to elbow with teammates and competitors in anticipation of the gun. As the shot sounded, I exploded off the line with hundreds of other runners. I raced the first two miles with excitement and energy. Each step smoothly developed as if I was gliding through the course. However, with one mile to go my legs started knotting up. I was tired and trying to find a way to fight through the last mile.
A lot of times in life, I feel the exact same way I do when I race; the first couple of miles feel great, but I grow weary with one mile to go. In the beginning of the week, I am excited and intent to read my Bible. By the end of the week, I am ready to stop reading so I can just take a nap. Throughout most of the school year, I diligently do my homework and assignments. When the end of the semester nears, I grow lazy and can hardly focus enough to study. When I make any sort of commitment, I work hard to stay committed for as long as possible, but always eventually fail. By the end, I just grow tired and weary and have to fight to keep going.
This past week, God has shown me a reason to keep pushing through the last mile in all aspects of life. In His Word, Hebrews 12:1-3 says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.”
When I grow tired during the last mile, I have the example of Jesus Christ, the One who endured hostility from sinners for me. Whenever I feel like giving up because I am tired, I can remember the one who was nailed to a cross for my sins. He was tired and weary and at any point could have pulled himself off that cross, but He endured until the end. He suffered the last mile. I need to look to Jesus so I will not grow weary or fainthearted. He suffered so much for me and if he could endure the cross, I can endure the last mile in the aspects of my life.
The reason I changed the title of my blog to ConsideredCross is because I have decided to make Hebrews 12:1-3 the verse my summer is going to be based around. When I grow tired of going to work this summer, I want to consider the cross. When I grow tired of training for cross country, I want to consider what Christ did on the cross. When I grow tired of reading my Bible every morning, I want to consider Jesus Christ, the One who suffered God’s wrath on the cross. By the end of the summer I want to say that I considered the cross and pushed through the last mile because Christ has given me the strength to do so.
When the summer ends, I want to be able to finish the story of my race saying, “With one mile to go my legs started knotting up. I was tired and trying to find a way to fight through the last mile. However, I considered the work of Jesus. He did so much for me and I knew I could finish the race because He endured. I did not grow weary or fainthearted because I know that my God conquered the grave. I raced the last mile with legs burning, but I finished strong. I crossed the line knowing that I gave it my best as I ran the race of endurance, looking to Jesus all the way.”