Running the Race

      The Christian life has often been described as a walk or a race.  The Book of Ephesians mentions at several different types of walks and Hebrews 12 describes it as a race.  I used to race.  That must have been about 65 years ago.  My track shoes had no heel in them.  There were about five or six spikes on the front of the shoe and a flimsy heel.  they only weight a small amount.  The idea was that you didn't want any extra weight on your body.  Every ounce makes a difference.  Our tracks were different in those days as I actually ran on "cinders."  We still wanted to win.  Each runner had the idea of coming in first and that is how we ran the race.  Hebrews 12:14 says, "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:"   
     This verse has a bit more information about running a race.  In this verse, the word to notice is "follow."  It can be compared to a beagle following a rabbit.  If the rabbit turns right, the beagle turns right.  If the rabbit turns left, the beagle turns left.   Where ever that rabbit goes, the beagle is "pursuing" it.  Jerry Bridges wrote a popular book that was titled, "The Pursuit of Holiness."  The theme of the book is from this verse of Scripture.  There is a connection between Christianity and men and women.  Our groups of people meet in buildings, but the group is called a "church."  You can study by yourself and be overjoyed in your understanding of the LORD.  As Jerry Bridges said, "Then the phone rings."  Your devotional spirit, which was so high just a minute ago, comes crashing down as you deal with a problem or a concern involving people.  Verse 14 talks about peace and holiness, but just zero in on the fact of holiness.  We know we should be holy, because God is holy.  Being holy is being separated,  and we are to be separated from the world, but we are also to be separated unto God.  May we have the tenacity of the beagle and the rabbit.  The pursuit of holiness is one of those life time activities.  You won't achieve absolute holiness until God takes you home to be with Him.  Your life, however, on this earth, is to be one of pursuing after that holiness.  It is our own, personal, "imitation of Christ."  Every fiber of our being endeavors to be like Him.  You and I are in this walk, or this race or whatever you want to call it.  Every day is going to be another opportunity to "pursue after holiness."   Praise God that He is holy.  May we pursue after holiness today and in the days to come.