"Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you,
and  learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart:
and ye  shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
- Matthew 11:28-30

Has it really been four years already?

I've been noticing a lot of previews on television for the upcoming Summer Olympics.  That kind of confirms it,  four years have passed since the last time athletes from  around the world donned their country's colors and  competed in the Summer Games.

During one of the previews a race of some sort was  taking place.  As I watched those runners speeding  around the track, I noticed something that is obvious to  anyone who even casts a sideward glance towards the runners...

...but is very meaningful when you think about it.  What  did I notice?  Simply this...

...the runners didn't have any unnecessary equipment  weighing them down.

Think about it, runners wear very skimpy clothing and  they don't carry anything with them that they don't need.   When was the last time you saw a runner carrying a  baseball bat or wearing shoulder pads?  Have you ever  watched as a runner sped around a track waving a  hockey stick or toting a basketball?

You see, runners know one very important thing,  unnecessary things will always hinder you in the race.   Unnecessary weights will always slow you down.  They  become a distraction and it affects the way you run.  So, quite simply, runners cast aside anything that keeps them  from performing at their absolute best level.

Paul, on more than one occasion, compares the  Christian life to a race.  That makes you and I runners, of  sorts.  We are running the Christian race.  And, if we are  going to perform at our absolute best level...

...we need to cast aside anything that hinders us in the  race.

See, just as runners don't wear shoulder pads and  runners don't carry hockey sticks, we need to avoid things  that affect the way that we run our race.  

What might those things be?  Glad you asked.

There are many things that can hinder the way we run the race for Christ.  Things like dwelling on the past.  If  we are constantly looking backwards at the mistakes  we've made, then we're going to stumble.  Go outside  and try running while looking backwards and you'll see  this is true.  Jesus doesn't want us to dwell on the past,  but to focus on today and tomorrow.  We can't change  the mistakes of days gone by, but we can make the most  of the days ahead.

Not only does the past hinder us sometimes, but also  possessions.  Sometimes the desire for more and more  things can become a distraction.  There is nothing  wrong with having nice things, but when the pursuit of  those things becomes more important than our  relationship with Jesus, we have begun to pick up hockey  sticks and put on shoulder pads in our race.  The Lord  isn't against material blessings, but they cannot become  a priority over Him.

The past, possessions and also pleasures can slow  us down in the race.  Things like wanting to be  entertained with certain movies, music and television that  we know we shouldn't be involved in.  It doesn't take long to become insensitive to many sins that we see glorified  in the media.  Are we slowing down in our passion for  Jesus?

Not only do the past, possessions and pleasures  sometimes hinder us in the Christian race, but, sadly,  sometimes people do as well.  People sometimes say  and do things that discourage us, anger us, depress us, confuse us and entice us.  It's hard to run the race with  any of those states of mind.  

One of my favorite passages of scripture is found in  Matthew 11:28-30, "Come unto me all ye that labor and  are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke  upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in  heart:  and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Jesus invites us to come unto Him and He will give us  rest from the rigors of the race.  Notice He says that His  "burden is light."  Can you guess why?  Because Jesus  knows we are in a race...

...and runners don't need anything heavy to carry with  them.

So, He offers to take anything that hinders us off of our  shoulders.  He can bear any burden, lighten any load.   He's there to help you get to the finish line.

How about it, friend?  How well are you running the  race?  Got any unnecessary equipment weighing you  down?