Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.
— Hebrews 12:1-2
Some barriers seem impossible to break. We don’t have the strength. We don’t have the patience. We don’t have the willpower. We don’t have the faith. The barriers are many. To overcome a barrier, you may need — to use a track term — a pacesetter in your life.
Roger Bannister was a medical student and track star in England during the 1950s. Running the mile was his specialty. Bannister was flirting with a barrier no one had ever broken: running the mile in under four minutes. Doctors had actually said the four-minute mile was dangerous and spoke out against it. Many believed the human body was unable to withstand the force required to run so fast. The heart would explode. The lungs would collapse. Ankle bones would break.
In fact, there was a limit, but it wasn’t physical or even mental. It was a social limit. Roger Bannister believed the four-minute mile couldn’t be broken — on his own. He began training with two other runners. They were his pacesetters. Pacesetters run a few strides ahead of the rest of the runners. Their job is to lead the way, not running too fast, but not too slow either. A good pacesetter can run a set distance precisely to within a quarter of a second.
On May 6, 1954, Bannister made another attempt at the four-minute mile. He felt good. Conditions were perfect. He felt like he could fly and yelled at the first pacesetter, “faster, faster!” But the pacesetter was steadfast in his duty and kept the practiced pace. Halfway through the race the first pacesetter dropped out and a second took the lead, Bannister keeping up just strides behind. On the last lap Bannister took the lead and sprinted to the finish line. He finished at 3:59.4, breaking the four-minute mile for the first time ever. Bannister later commented, “The pacesetter made success possible.”
Finding the strength. Finding the resolve. Finding that ounce of faith to break down whatever barriers are holding us back can be so difficult. But when we have others who go with us, who run before us, as Bannister’s pacesetter did, success is possible.
But even Hebrews admits it can still be tough. Sometimes we don’t feel we have the faith as our ancestors did, that we can’t live up to their example. So, where do we turn? We are instructed to keep our eyes on Jesus, the ultimate pacesetter. Jesus has run this route before us and knows it well. Jesus has set a pace for us and made it clear that he doesn’t expect anything of us that he wasn’t willing to undergo himself. He sets a pace not too fast — a place where we can lay our burdens down and find our rest. But a pace not to slow either — a call to go out into the world working and serving, commissioning us to go and make disciples of all the world in his name. With Jesus as the pacesetter, he has made success possible.
What is the barrier that has kept you from reaching your goals? Whatever it is, lay that which weighs you down aside. Surround yourself with a cloud of witnesses. And keep your eyes on Jesus, the pioneer, perfecter and pacesetter of our faith.
— Reflections appears regularly on the religion page. The column features a variety of local writers, coordinated through the Monroe Area Clergy Group. Todd Hackman is senior pastor at St. John’s United Church of Christ in Monroe.
