I have been reading Hebrews with the college guy bible study and it never ceases to amaze me. This week we finished off the book with reading and talking about chapters 11-13. Chapter 11 is the faith chapter, where the writer goes through the great heroes of the faith. And you get this sense that these normal people underwent stressful and sometimes horrible events and experiences and persevered through faith. They did all these great things through faith. What are we willing to experience for and through our faith?
Hebrews 11:26 caught my eye. “He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.” This is talking about Moses, who lived as a Hebrew rather than as the Pharaoh’s daughter’s son. We thought that being true to his faith was greater than any level of wealth, privilege, or comfort that position could give.
Do we take comfort, position, and privilege over holding true to our faith? That is a personal question, but if I was going to answer for the whole of the American church, than it would have to be yes. Here is maybe the most common example. Take sharing your faith. It is a basic principle of the Christian life. It is what the Great Commission is saying, that we need to share who Christ is with the world and walk with them through the journey of faith. Do you do it? Do you live it? If we are honest, we don’t. We might start to, or feel guilty about not doing it and make a resolution to start. But we don’t follow through, or if we do it doesn’t last long. (this is a general statement, there are people who do live this out but the majority don’t) It can be uncomfortable to us. It can be hard and people might not respond well or even be mean. And this makes us pull back. We value our comfort more than holding true to the Great Commission. Ask yourself if this is you.
We don’t have to read that much further to get to the hinge verse of Hebrews 12:1-2, which urges us with these people in view as well as Christ to throw off all the stuff and sin that is stopping us from living out our faith. This is possible, it isn’t only for “super Christians”, we are all called to put our faith in action, to put wheels on our beliefs, to live out what we say we believe.
Hebrews 13:12-13 “So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.”
Jesus pointed the way. He was a outcast, he endured persecution to the fullest and this was all for us. And we are called to endure the same. The same reproach that was poured on him will be poured on us. And we are called to endure it all for his glory. Do we have this mindset? To live our faith out no matter what. That the world and all the people who don’t know Christ could turn their backs on us, that they could hurl insults and make fun of us, that they could hate us and persecute us. But no matter what, we will endure this on sought. We will endure because Christ endured for us. And so we respond to his endurance with endurance of our own. Will you endure? Will you live out your faith so that you need to endure? Because we have to wonder what it means if non-believers have no problem with you.
We can do this! You can do this. Live out what you believe. Be willing to endure suffering, mockery, persecution, or anything for the sake of Christ. I write this to myself more to anyone else. I need to do this, to live this, to have faith that puts Christ and his glory before all else. And so I also encourage you as the writer of Hebrews did, “Lift up your dropping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.” (Hebrews 12:12-13)
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