“Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” Hebrews 12:1
In the gospel of John, the Lord Jesus describes Himself as “the Way.” In the early days of the church after its beginning at Pentecost, the followers of Christ were known as belonging to “the Way.” That Way was not only a combination of essential, eternal truths, by which the followers of Christ lived by, but it was also a LIFE which was lived by the power of the Spirit of Christ. There was for sure the objective truth, but there was also the power of the Spirit. The truth and the Life were embraced as one. The great and central truth which brought every born-again believer together as one in the body of Christ, whether Gentile or Jew, poor or rich, of one nationality or another, was what the Scripture calls the “Great Salvation.” It was that blessed act of God whereby the lost soul, having been forgiven of all sins, was placed into Christ, in a living union with the Son of God. The purpose of this union was to create a fellowship, or communion, between God and man, to be established, lived, and manifested to the surrounding world. It would be as the Son of God, by the Spirit of God, was increasingly revealed in and through the life of a saved individual, that God’s kingdom would increase, and thus, His glory would be increasingly manifested to all around, so that the world would know that there is one God, the very Savior of mankind, Lord of lords and King of kings, the only One capable of forgiving sins, and giving a new eternal life in Christ. But how does one know this “way,” the essential truths of one’s coming to God, being accepted, drawing near in true communion?
The first, and most important truth to consider is that of the Person and ministry of the glorified Christ. During Jesus’ ministry, there were those who sought Jesus, and in finding his disciple Philip, expressing their desire: “We would SEE Jesus.” Is this not the starting point for everything in this life, in the knowledge of this Way, for in the revelation and grasping of both the truth as it is in Christ, then seeing Him as He is, one is brought to faith in Him as Creator, Savior, and Lord? By the very act of turning away from all that is not of Christ, in order to place one’s entire trust for time and eternity in Him, the first step is taken upon this road, this “way,” to know this God in whom “…we live and move and have our being.” The bedrock foundation, and means of communion with God the Father, the Lord Jesus, by the Spirit has been laid.
Secondly, though no believer understands all that transpires in the life the moment that the new birth occurs, there is a principle that will endure in the pursuit of the knowledge of Christ along this way. The Apostle Paul would put it like this, in writing to the Colossian believers: “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.” (2:6) From the moment of the new birth the guiding principle for fellowship with Christ is not only that all must be based upon the truth as it is in Jesus, but also, but upon Christ alone as the entire, and complete “Way” for every need. Christ has become and is the Life.
The call of God is one to “…run with endurance the race set before us, LOOKING UNTO JESUS,” consistently laying aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us. The direction in which the believer is to consistently look in running this race, on this path or way, is to Christ,”… the Author and Finisher of faith.” (Heb. 12:1,2) The call is to know daily communion with Christ.
Dear Father, Strengthen us to run. In Jesus’ name, Amen.