Read the Word:
Hebrews 12:1-3
Meditate on the Word:
The author of Hebrews had just spent chapter 11 telling us about various heroes of the faith throughout history: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Moses. These were people who did not have an easy time. Their lives were hard, but they persevered. These (and others too numerous to mention) are the “mighty cloud of witnesses” that the author speaks of. By the way, in the original Greek, the word for witness is where we get our word “martyr.” The two concepts are basically inseperable.
There is nothing in Scripture that can reasonably be construed to make the Christian life easy. In fact, we are frequently told the exact opposite. In the early church, persecution was expected. Jesus told them to expect it (Matt. 5: 44); Luke wrote about persecution (Acts 8:1); Paul expected it (2 Timothy 3:12); and John urged faithfulness through it (Revelation 2:10). Our passage in Hebrews today reminds us that Jesus endured hostility and we must be able to do the same. Persecution and suffering were the expected normal state for the Christian during the first three centuries of the church.
I’m not saying that we should all expect to be killed or tortured for our faith, as some of our brothers and sisters are. Perhaps we are tortured by our own propensity for sin. Perhaps our persecution is invasive sinful thoughts. Perhaps worry, stress, distraction are the things that try to separate us from Christ. Let us be mindful and set aside these things in faith today.
Pray the Word:
Pray to our Lord that you may endure faithfully today.
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