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“Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1b–2a).

It was finally here: Fifth Grade Field Day! Collin’s heart was pumping so loudly he thought the people around him could hear it! He was standing on the starting line for the 100 meter dash. Collin loved to run and had practiced for months for this special day. If he could just run his best in this race, he could have a shot at the gold medal during the awards ceremony. Collin took a deep breath as he fixed his eyes straight ahead on the big oak tree in the distance. The announcer yelled, “On your mark . . . get set . . . GO!”

Collin was off! As he ran, he kept his eyes glued to the oak tree. His dad had told him he would be much more focused during the race if he chose one thing in front of him and then pretended like he was going to run right through it. So far it was working. The breeze felt great as Collin sped ahead of everyone else. He was glad that his brother Peter had let him borrow some special, lightweight running clothes for the day. His legs felt much freer today than they did when he ran in sweatpants. As Collin flew past the finish line, he knew immediately by his mom’s and sister Erin’s cheering that he had done it. First place was his!

Just as Collin had to prepare for his race by wearing the right clothes and having a good running strategy, runners in the Christian race must also be prepared. Yes, there is a race for Christians. It is mentioned in several places in the Bible (Psalm 19:5; Ecclesiastes 9:11; 1 Corinthians 9:24; Hebrews 9:1–3). Obviously, it is not a literal race around a track, but it has similarities to a real race.

The writer of Hebrews gives two specific instructions from God about running the race. First, Christians, the runners in this race, are to get rid of everything that is dead weight so they can run freely. Sin is the biggest thing that weighs Christians down and hinders their success. Until a runner’s sins are washed away, he or she will fail to get very far. Second, the runners in the Christian race must focus on Christ’s excellent example of perseverance (“continued effort”). Christ suffered so much on earth before He died on the cross, yet He never gave up His responsibilities to His Father. Some Christians run longer races than others, but each runner still has to press on and stay focused on Christ until he or she reaches the finish line: Heaven. Then the success will be recognized and all glory will go to God.

God has given each Christian a race to run that must be run by God’s instructions.

My response:
» Am I avoiding sin so I can freely run the Christian race?
» Am I daily focusing on Christ and persevering after His example?

“Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the LORD” (Colossians 3:20).

I was in a store and heard a little boy shouting to his mother and crying because she wouldn’t get him what he wanted. She said, “I am not going to get that for you because I do not like the way you are acting toward me.” The mother was clear about how her son had disobeyed her and the consequences of his behavior. I didn’t hear a peep out of him after that.

Have you ever wondered why God wanted you to obey your mother and father? Why was it so important to God? The reason children should obey their parents is found in Colossians 3:20, “Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the LORD” (emphasis added).

God in His infinite wisdom gave parents to children and commanded those parents to teach and guide their children (Deuteronomy 6:5–7).

God wants children to obey Him, which includes obeying their parents.

My response:
» Did I obey my mom or dad when I was told to do something today?
» Will I obey for the rest of the day?
» Did I obey joyfully?

“In whom [Christ] are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3).

Grace was looking for a special place to keep her treasures. She had laid them all on the floor of her room in a little pile. There was a pure white clam shell she had found at the beach. There were three quarters from the state of Georgia, where she lived. There was a little ceramic dog she had begged Mom to buy for her at a yard sale. There was a ticket stub from the zoo with a picture of a tiger on it. And there was a glittery, gold silk ribbon that had come on a birthday present last year.

Grace spotted an old shoebox at the back of her closet. She found some pretty flowered wrapping paper, and she carefully covered the box and the lid separately as if she were wrapping a present. She put all her treasures inside and wrote with a gold glitter pen on the lid, “My Treasure Box.” Then she hid the box in a dresser drawer beneath a pile of sweatshirts. No one would ever find it there!

Many people have a special place where they keep their treasures. But God’s Word tells us in Colossians 2:3 that we can find treasure in a person. That person is Jesus Christ. Hidden in Jesus are “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

Have you ever wished that you knew exactly what to do in a certain situation? Maybe there has been some trouble with your friends at school and you’re not sure how to respond. Maybe you’re not sure how to tell your neighbor about Jesus. Or maybe you’re not sure what to be when you grow up. There are many problems in our lives for which we need wisdom. When you really, really need wisdom, it is like a treasure to you. And Jesus Himself is the special place where all the treasures of wisdom are stored up. As you seek Him by reading His Word and praying, He will guide you for any decision or problem—great or small. To know Him is to find a treasure store of wisdom.

In Jesus we can find all the treasures of wisdom.

My response:
» Do I try to figure out how to deal with problems on my own?
» Or do I go to Jesus for wisdom when I have a problem?

 “If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but, rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers” (Ephesians 4:21–29).

I remember the day as if it was yesterday. My siblings and I were playing down in the basement while our mom was canning food upstairs in the kitchen. We were playing “snake”—slithering around on our bellies and making hissing sounds. Every so often someone would call out “Snake!” There we were, slithering around the basement and up and down the stairs, when my sister Jennifer went up to see Mom.

Suddenly, Jennifer saw the last thing she expected: a real, live snake, right in front of her. “Snake!” Jennifer cried. Our mom, thinking we were still playing, came out of the kitchen to see a “big snake” in her house. As soon as she saw the real snake, she told us to close the basement door and told Jennifer to get on a chair. Then Mom began grabbing knives and throwing them at the snake. Miss. Miss. Miss. Yes, she missed every time! Mom ran out of knives and was frantic. But Jennifer saw the sewing scissors lying nearby, picked them up, and calmly threw them at the snake. A HIT! The snake coiled into a ball. Mom covered the snake with a pot. And another on top of that one. And then something to weigh down the pots. The snake lay there until Dad got home and took care of it. After that, the hallway floor always had marks from where the knives hit it.

You know, we believers should treat sin the same way my family treated that snake. We should work to keep sin out. It’s not something we should play around with or let lie in the house. We need to “kill it” and stamp it out of our lives with all the strength we have.

Sin leaves an effect on us. Much like the floor had scars from the knives, some sins leave scars in our lives. Even so, it is much better to have the scars than the open, oozing, never-healing wounds that sin causes.

We need to “snip” sin out of our lives.

My response:
» What sin do I need to snip today?