Endure in Community

Imagine a runner coming toward the close of the longest marathon that she has ever run, and collapsing
in exhaustion twenty feet before the finish line. The author returns to the race metaphor of 12:1-3 as he
calls the church to continue moving ahead in external peace toward others and internal holiness toward
God, holding one another up to God’s standards for community until the Lord takes them home or He
returns. The race that your brothers and sisters are running is your race as well, and we are to help one
another endure until the end.