說起湯普森紀念館的蜈蚣越野賽，確實與眾不同。賽程共五公里，每七人合成一個隊伍，他們要共同握住一根繩子跑到三公里處。然後鬆開繩子，各隊隊員各自按自己的速度跑到終點。所以每個人的成績，就是團隊的速度加上自己跑到終點的速度。

今年，我女兒那一隊運用的策略，我以前從沒見過，就是讓跑最快的人跑在前面，而他後頭緊跟著跑得最慢的人。她說這樣做的目的，是讓前者能就近鼓勵跑得最慢的隊友。

這樣的策略生動描繪出希伯來書的一段經文，作者激勵我們：「要堅守我們所承認的指望，不至搖動」（10章23節），「又要彼此相顧，激發愛心，勉勵行善」（24節）。當然有許多方式可以讓彼此得著激勵，但作者特別強調的是：「不可停止聚會，好像那些停止慣了的人，倒要彼此勸勉」（25節）。只要能力許可，就當與眾信徒一同聚會，這是信仰生活中一個重要的環節。

有時，我們不免感到人生坎坷舉步維艱，甚或因絕望而想放棄。我們既然同奔天路，就讓我們彼此勉勵，一起堅定地跑完全程！

The Steven Thompson Memorial Centipede is a cross-country meet unlike any other. Each seven-member team runs as a unit, holding a rope for the first two miles of a three-mile course. At the two-mile mark, the team drops the rope and finishes the race individually. Each person’s time is, therefore, a combination of the pace the team kept and his or her own speed.

This year, my daughter’s team opted for a strategy I had not previously seen: They put the fastest runner at the front and the slowest right behind her. She explained that their goal was for the strongest runner to be near enough to speak words of encouragement to the slowest runner.

Their plans depicted for me a passage from the book of Hebrews. The writer urges us to “hold unswervingly to the hope we profess” (Hebrews 10:23) as we “spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (v. 24). There are certainly many ways of accomplishing this, but the author highlighted one: “not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another” (v. 25). Gathering together with other believers as we’re able is a vital aspect of the life of faith.

The race of life can feel like more than we can handle at times, and we may be tempted to drop the rope in hopelessness. As we run together, let’s offer one another the encouragement to run strong!