Hebrews 12:1-2 New International Version (NIV):
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Richard Kriegbaum, Ph.D., president of Fresno Pacific University, understands the race described in Hebrews 12:1-2, FPU’s 2015-2016 theme verse. “In high school and in college I ran track,” he told students, faculty and staff during the President’s Convocation August 26, “almost always as the third leg of the four people who carried the baton on the various sprint relay teams.”
A great cloud of witnesses
The biggest indoor meet of the year took place on a steeply banked wood track with 12 laps to the mile. “So with 10,000 people watching, three college teams ran the mile relay, each guy running three laps,” Kriegbaum said. “We were comfortably ahead at the first baton pass, but then…we flipped the baton into the potted plants….” The determination of the other runners averted disaster and his team finished second. “The great cheering crowd was with us. We ran our race well,” he said.
Hebrews Chapter 11 begins with a working definition of faith: “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Many students come to Fresno Pacific by faith, leaving familiar culture and relationships. They’re in good company. “By faith Abraham’s wife Sarah bore their son Isaac when she was far too old. And by faith Abraham offered to sacrifice Isaac believing that if he did, God would raise him from the dead. And the list goes on: Jacob, Joseph, Moses and many other famous people from the biblical account,” he said.
Throw off everything that hinders
The Special Events Center was alive during the convocation with the academic regalia of faculty and administrators. “Every one of us worked very hard for the education and the professional and personal development that is represented by these colorful outfits. Every time I put mine on I remember the prayers and sacrifices of my family,” Kriegbaum, said.
Education is a gift from God, the result of prayer and hard work. “But if it slows me down from running any part of my race, I must let go of it. Our great achievements in life can hold us back if we decide to stay in that place rather than be thankful to God and use it to move on. We cannot let any good thing that God has given us become an idol that matters more to us than our relationship with God,” Kriegbaum said.
The race marked out for us
From president to freshman, every person present faces an individual race, with unique challenges and abilities. “Each one of us has the same opportunity to respond to the divine hand we are dealt, because all things, yes all things, really do work together for our good,” Kriegbaum said.
At the same time, FPU has its own race to run, and all are part of that race. “It is up to us, each of us individually and all of us collectively in this unique community of learners to make this a most amazing year, a year to drop everything—every immobilizing fear, every demeaning mistrust, every unhealthy feeling and every sin that so easily entangles us. A year to drop everything that is holding us back, a year to run with beautiful abandon our race, the race that God has set before us. By God’s grace and for his glory, we are Fresno Pacific University and this year is our race to win.”