The Race Set Before UsSample

In verse 14 of Hebrews 12, the author begins to issue a warning to the audience. He starts it off with two directives:

1. Make every effort to live in peace with everyone.
2. Be holy.

These are two separate acts, but the author found it important to mention them at the same time here. Why?

If you’ve ever played a team sport, this concept probably makes sense. Everyone on a team has the same goal: to win. And working towards the goal together makes it all the more rewarding. The book of Hebrews makes it clear that we should all work towards the goal of holiness.

But just like in team sports, individual decisions can also negatively impact the whole group. When a player refuses to pass the ball or plays for themselves instead of the team, the damage doesn’t stay contained. The whole team suffers, and as a result, bitterness grows. Before you know it, you don’t have a team anymore — just fractured individuals.

That’s the warning behind Hebrews 12:14-15. We’re called to pursue peace and holiness, not just for our sake but because bitterness has a way of taking root. And once it does, it won’t just trip up one runner. It impacts everyone.

So the call is not to manage your brother or sister’s performance. It’s to guard the relationships that make perseverance possible. A team doesn’t try to foster chemistry just for fun. They do it because it will help them win. Likewise, peace with fellow believers isn’t a detour. It’s part of our race.

Reflection: Are you treating your faith as something that only affects you — like a self-help guide to master yourself? Or are you allowing it to positively impact others?

In the Video: Listen in as professional hockey player and Olympian Teddy Blueger tells us why an unselfish team is so much harder to defend than a group of individuals.