Last night I was meditating on “lay aside” from Hebrews 12:1. To me, to lay aside something is rather nonchalant and passive. However, this verse is talking about aggressive action. Words like cast off, fling away, or throw off. It is a picture of seizing something and violently throwing it away from me.
Hebrews 12:1 says that it is the sin that so easily ensnares us. The Amplified uses the sin that clings to and entangles us. One day I was walking across the lawn and was just about to put my foot down on the patio sidewalk when a snake appeared. I high stepped it, but we got entangled for a few moments before we both fled. It’s a great picture of a stronghold. It entangles us. It unexpectedly rises up to impede our walk with the Lord. We need to do whatever it takes to violently cast it off!