As we gather together in His name, I am once again reminded of how the whole Universe is made and kept by the word of God; and therefore, if our hearts are open, just one word from Him can bring about change that is unimaginable and at the same time life-changing.
And today, I want us to look at just two chapters from the book of Hebrews. We know from the background of the book, that it is primarily written to believers! Believers in Christ Jesus, who had found joyous freedom from religiosity and human traditions, were again in danger of back-sliding into a Old Covenant relationship with God and the religious pull of Judaism. The author of Hebrews repeatedly compares the Old and the New Covenant, and waxes eloquent on how much better is the New Covenant now, in Jesus Christ.
Most people know, that the book of Hebrews is peppered with writings on faith as the essential ingredient in the Christian walk (including the famous chapter 11 on faith); but, do you know that there is another equally important ingredient-patience?
In Hebrews 6:42, we find these words: …you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
Let me now digress a little bit; think about the time when we first came to Christ… sins forgiven, joyous redemption in His blood, and the exhilarating new life. And we sing, “As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longeth after you”. But as we continue to walk, the youthful exuberance might just wane a little and there is a danger of looking at the past with fondness and, dare I say, craving again. Much like the children of Judah, the author of Hebrews is addressing here. It is in those times, we must remember this verse from Hebrews 6:42 and Imitate those who through… faith… AND… patience… inherit the promises of God.
Christian walk, I would say, is a balance of both Faith and
Patience.
We should not go into extremism on our ideals, like some do.
There is a group of people who go on and on about God’s love, and think that
God will accept whatever they are and whatever they do, because of His great
love. This is not true-our loving God is also a Holy God. On the other hand,
there are yet another group of puritans, who think that God is ready to only
judge in His holiness, and forget that God is love. God, who is Holy, is a God
of love.
And that is the kind of balance I’m talking about: Faith and Patience. Hebrews 11 is that chapter of faith; but in continuation one must not ignore chapter 12-the chapter of patience. We know that originally, the Bible was not segregated into chapters and so the first word “Therefore,…” in chapter-12 must prompt us to look at it as a continuation of Chapter-11 subject-Inheritance of God’s promises, through faith and patience.
Faith
Heb. 4:2 warns us that without faith the word of God cannot profit us one bit. And there are hundreds of God’s promises on the platter, waiting to be mixed with the ingredient of faith. For example, take this simple promise: God is good, and His love endures forever. I gather that many will have no problem in relating to the truth that God is good; but when it comes to asking someone whether God is good to you, then all those problems and pain crop up in their mind, and they look at us as if they are still waiting for God’s goodness to show up in their life! This is NOT faith! Faith is not some intellectual reasoning based on the hearsay hope stories of others; but faith is a matter of the heart grabbing hold of God’s faithfulness in your own personal life and experiences.
And the list of heroes of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11 were mere humans-ordinary men and women, who believed and trusted God for who He is, and did extraordinary things in their own life. Let me share a few heroes today: Hebrews 11:8 says, By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed…
Faith leads us into obedience, according to the calling of God. A complete obedience involves risks, because God usually does not give a roadmap of the entire journey. But Abraham knew only this: God was calling Him, and that He will be with him if he obeyed, and he took that faith risk. Do you know that Abraham’s father too started his journey from Ur of the Chaldeans to go on to Canaan, but settled comfortably half-way in a place called Haran. After Terah died, it was left to Abraham to decide whether to stay there or to obey the call of God, and he decided to go all the way to Canaan. And even in Canaan, he did not know where exactly he was supposed to go, and he went from place to place for quite some time, before God remarkably opened a door for Abraham.
And when Abraham’s faith was tested after Isaac was born, he came out to do what he was accustomed to do: just obey the voice of God, even to the point of giving up his future and a promise-In Isaac, your seed shall be called (Heb. 11:17). Faith sees the invisible; Abraham just knew that there is no hand safer than God’s, and committed himself into His hand!
Look at another hero of faith-Moses. Now Moses-a prince in the palaces of Pharaoh, was a notably influential person in the entire land of Egypt, where his own people were slaves. All the treasures and wisdom of Egypt were at his disposal… but Moses knew that he had to lift his eyes higher, and there he saw himself choose suffering and affliction with the people of God over pleasures of Egypt; he saw far greater riches in the reproach for Christ than all the treasures of Egypt. (Heb. 11: 25, 26)
Patience
Therefore… seeing
all these heroes of faith and in view of all that they underwent, we too must
have patience (or perseverance).
·
Let us lay aside every weight and the
ensnaring sin (Heb. 12:1), for the race requires pace and focus
·
Let us run with endurance (Heb. 12:1), for
there are many times when there are no instant solutions.
·
Let us resist and strive against sin, even
to the point of bloodshed (Heb. 12:4)
·
Let us not despise His chastening-His discipline;
for He loves us as His own children and corrects us for our own good (Heb. 12:
5-7)
·
Let us strengthen our hands that hang down,
for our healing is near (Heb. 12:13)
·
Let us pursue peace, with all people, and
pursue holiness; for we must one day see the Lord (Heb. 12:14)
·
Let us have grace, for we are receiving a
kingdom that cannot be shaken (Heb. 12:28)
Now I do not know about you, but I see a lot of chicken soup for the soul, here in these verses of Hebrews Chapter-12. Endure, persevere, strengthen, pursue, resist… the people who were originally addressed to were indeed experiencing a lot of hardships. But it is time to give God the first place, and seek first His kingdom. God is good, and He is good to me-this is our testimony.
May God help us to draw near to Him, having faith and
practicing patience! Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment