3. Exhortation to Endurance, 12:1-24a. The command, vv.1-3The passage begins with two inferences that focus our attention on two incentives for endurance.1) The motivation, v.1aThe image is that of an arena filled to capacity by people sitting on the edge of their chairs in expectancy. It is an athletic contest that the writer uses as metaphoric of our lives as participating in a race. The spectators, Old Testament saints, either are anxious to see what choices we make or are testifying to the necessity of faith