🏋️ Hebrews 12:1 | Weight vs. Sin

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Happy Wednesday, {{first_name | everyone}}!

As we continue meditating on Hebrews 12:1, let’s look at the original language and see what else we can learn to help deepen our understanding of what it means to run after Jesus wholeheartedly.

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Therefore, since we are __________ by so _____ a _____ of _________, let us also ___ _____ _____ ______, and ___ which ______ so _______, and let us ___ with _________ the ____ that is set ______ us,

Hebrews 12:1

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In the way we speak about sin, we tend to throw it all together into one confusing bundle.

Yet this week’s verse offers a few helpful distinctions:

Looking at the original Greek can help us see the distinction more clearly.

The word for sin is hamartia — to miss the mark or make a mistake.

Hebrews 12:1 says that sin “clings so closely.” Some translations say that sin “easily entangles” us.

This is because sin is skillful at surrounding and tripping us.

On the other hand, the word for weight is ogkos. Ogkos is an encumbrance, something bulky that holds you back as you try to move forward.

Picture yourself running toward Jesus while dragging a heavy weight behind you, slowing your progress.

Weights are the extra burdens — not necessarily sinful in themselves — that still weigh us down and hinder our race.

I planted a garden from scratch this year and it’s slowly starting to take shape as the little seedlings and some small plants bravely take up more space. Yet most of my time has not been spent frolicking around in a sunhat (as I imagined). In reality, I have been pulling weeds.

🤔 Reflect

There are many things that can hold us back as we attempt to run after Jesus.

What are the sins that you get tangled up in?

What might be weights in your life right now?

🏃‍♂ Act

I’ve learned to be ruthless with the weeds. Even the pretty ones that seem harmless enough can get all tangled up in the good plants’ roots, stealing their water, and stunting their growth.

Can you identify one sin or weight that is holding you back from being all that God made you to be? Consider what can flourish in its absence…What might it look like to pull it out?

🙏 Pray

Father, the more I spend time in your Word, the more it makes sense to me. Would you help me to be ruthless with the sins that I tend to get tangled up in and to pull them up at the roots? Amen.

Here are a few resources to help you dig deeper into our memory verse and its themes:

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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,

Hebrews 12:1