The passage I
read was Hebrews 12:1-11
You can find that passage here:
The verse that
most stood out to me:
7 Endure
hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what
children are not disciplined by their father?
As I reflect:
The topic for study this week is
“hopeful perseverance”, and this is a great passage to start out with for that
topic. As I reflect, I see 2 main angles
being discussed.
1 – The race comparison (run with
perseverance)
When one is running a race (and
I’m no athlete any more but have a history of Martial arts competitions and
Military exercises), it would be easy to simply stop when we get tired. But we wouldn’t cross the finish line this
way. We would lose completely and it
would have been better to have not shown up at all. We are instead encouraged to run with
perseverance. These 1st three
verses give some key elements of how to do that.
a. surrounded by such a great
cloud of witnesses. Here we see that we
have encouragers (some who have struggled in far greater battles than our
own). We ought to receive their encouragement
as we read their stories and see their own perseverance as well as when we hear
them still today through those who surround us and share the Word of God
through the encouragement of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
b. Let us throw off everything
that hinders us. You wouldn’t run a race
with 10 layers of clothing, a cold, a car strapped to your waist, and a back
pack of bricks (though some might actually train this way). No, you would throw off all that baggage and
run well hydrated with little to no weight to restrain you and an outfit which
allowed your body to breath. Likewise as
we run the race of a life lived for Christ, we want to throw off all that
hinders that. Sin. As we recognize sin in our lives we are to
throw it off so that our walk with Christ (our race) isn’t hindered. I want to grow and become a better runner for
the prize but will have great difficulty if I carry hidden weights and extra
layers of clothing. This race requires
letting go of sin and holding very lightly to possessions that they may fall
from your hand without regret when the Holy Spirit moves you. Let’s lighten the spiritual and physical load
and run without entanglement.
c. Fixing our eyes on Jesus. This is the prize. We aren’t running to get into Heaven. I don’t want it if Jesus isn’t there. I’m running to fall at the feet of my blessed
Redeemer who has taken my place, my shame, my pain, my punishment upon Himself
that I may live free from the eternal damnation of sin. This is my prize; that I might reach the
finish line and hear from my Savior, “well done my good and faithful
servant.” I keep my eyes on this prize. I see Him at the finish line and I look ever
forward to His embrace. With such a
prize awaiting how could anyone stop running?
d. He endured the cross. I am not only encouraged by the great mass of
others who have already endured this race and also by those still setting the
example today, but also by my Lord Who has already completed the race. His prize is far greater because His race was
infinitely harder. He ran not only the
race of life, but also took on the weights that we now lay down. All that would hinder us, we lay aside as we
receive grace from the one that carried all that we couldn’t. I am encouraged knowing that Jesus did this
as a man. If He then endured far greater
for my sake, then I may run this race focused and encouraged by Him already
having faced every temptation along the way.
I know it can be done, because He did it. I know He knows how it feels, because He felt
it.
2 – As a father disciplines his
child…
Secondly I noted the comparison
of God the Father in disciplining us to our earthly fathers disciplining us as
children. In my case it was usually my
mom as I had several father figures but she was the one who was always there. Many times when I was punished I can remember
feeling angry and resenting her or even building up bitterness. But looking back with an adult view of it
all, I get it now. Each and every
punishment received was because I was in the wrong and needed correcting. I was corrected not out of hate but
love. I was corrected not for everyone
else’s sake but for my own so that I may grow up knowing right from wrong and
the gifts that come from doing the right thing vs. the ill effects of doing
wrong. It is likewise in the way that
the Lord holds us accountable for our actions.
Infinitely wiser of course, but same concept. Because He loves us so dearly, He cannot then
allow us to continue sinning because He knows the ill effects of that sin. He then punishes, rebukes, corrects that we
may know right from wrong and make a good choice. He wants us to grow in wisdom and so He isn’t
a silent God turned away from His children, but like an active Father in our
lives He is ever present and guiding through His Holy Spirit. Let us not grow bitter or angry with God
because “the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he
accepts as his son.” Be encouraged in hopeful perseverance for this correction
shows that He cares for you as His own child.
Let this then bring joy as you run the race marked out for you.
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