Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? — Galatians 5:7
Our lives have changed tremendously with cameras on everyone’s cell phones. Now, it is not uncommon for someone to have a phone recording and capture some interesting things on video, especially at sporting events. Not long ago, I was watching a video that someone sent me of children playing at a sporting event when a unique situation was caught on camera.
One child was running down the field as fast as they could run, but someone came off the sidelines and onto the field. It appeared that it was a coach or parent, but they stepped right into the path of the running child. The child ran into this person, and it knocked them down. The child stood up and immediately began running the opposite way. They had lost the direction they were going!
While it was a cute video, it did bring my mind back to this verse in Galatians. Paul used the analogy of running a race to living the Christian life and made an interesting statement with the word “hinder.” The word used is that the person was held back, hindered, or prevented from continuing their race.
The point he was trying to get across is that these Christians were on a great path, but somehow they were held back or knocked off course. Something prevented them from continuing a great race. Was it a disruption, distraction, or hindrance? No matter what, something took them off course.
Has anything knocked you off course in running the race of the Christian life? You might look to blame others around you, circumstances of life, or many distractions that are present in the world. But it is our individual responsibility to run our race. If we get knocked off course, it is our responsibility to get back into the race and finish well!
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