Lighthouse scribes

The Bible, speaking of a great cloud of witnesses, tells us that much more than was listed in the previous chapter (and even since the Bible was written) are men and women who trusted in God and lived by faith. The way they lived and responded to God are examples for us to see what FAITH means.

‘Let us strip off every weight that slows us down.’ This suggests that sin is not the only thing that distracts us. There are inordinate affections in our lives that come between us and spiritual growth.

‘Let us strip off the sin that so easily trips us up.’ I believe that the sin referenced here is unbelief (or a lack of faith), seeing as the focus was to warn the audience of the distractions that come in the way of running the race that God has set. If any of those spoken of in chapter 11 had allowed unbelief to trip them up, we’d not have read about them.

My dad passed on to glory in 2016. His entire life was a testament—he was a man whose entire life was devoted to fulfilling the days God had appointed to him according to the volume of the books and to going home and resting in the bosom of his maker. He and my mum were the first people to engrave in our hearts that we were not earth dwellers for long, and heaven is our home even before we understood it by our own personal scripture study. He’s a witness to this life of faith, but he’s not my focus. No matter how good a person is, like us, they are saints, yet they are not our focus. Jesus is the focus. Not only is He the perfect example of how to live life, but the goal is to be like Him, and part of becoming like Him is living in obedience to Him.

The big question is, do we know what the goal is? Cos the goal of life isn’t our conceived goal but God’s goal. I like to picture life as a movie or a movie set, where God (the Trinity) are the storywriter, director, and producer, and we humans are the actors. All of us have a script (this is what is written in the volume of the books about us). When we are aligned with God, we are living His script. When we are not, we become bad actors, acting our own script. No storywriter, producer, and director is happy when an actor has deviated from the plot.

Now think about this picture. Our goal as actors isn’t to be like the other actors, if they are doing well, they serve as examples of those who follow the script they are given, those who live by faith. Our goal is to follow God, keeping our eyes on Jesus. We are encouraged to look at what Jesus had to pass through as an encouragement for us in difficult times (v2-3).

Have you forgotten, or have you never learnt?

Hebrews 12:5 NKJV

[5] And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;

The Christians had forgotten that God chastens. We saw how the writer addressed so many issues and beliefs that had come up in their midst from Chapter 1. They were discouraged because they went through difficulties. It’s the same way many people go through difficult situations and lament that God has deserted them. Then in our own times there have been doctrines taught in ‘churches’ that teach that genuine Christians do not go through suffering. I like to call it the doctrine of Job’s three friends. It is not a Christian doctrine. Christians go through difficulties not only because we are in a broken world, but also as God’s chastening when we’ve deviated from God’s script. The Bible tells that God chastens those he loves, and this chastening is to refocus us and help us grow (Prov 3:11-12, He 12:5-13, 1 Cor 11:27-32, Isaiah 48:10).

V12-13 instructs us on what to do when we or our siblings are weary. In the midst of our weariness and spiritual struggles, God is saying to receive encouragement and stay focused in our race. Don’t be worn out by life’s struggles. Strength doesn’t come from taking a break from God but from walking in the path of His righteousness.

Pursue Peace and Holiness (14-17)

Reminiscent of the two greatest commandments, we are to be swift to choose peace in our relationship with others and work at living a consecrated life. For those who are truly in Christ, daily mortify the deeds of the flesh and submit themselves daily to the Holy Spirit as a living sacrifice. Esau chose to live in immorality and cared less about what mattered the most. His senses were dulled, so that when Jacob did a grievous thing by asking for his birthright, he had no idea of the gravity of what he was trading. That is what sin does; it dulls the human sense and makes anyone who is led by it go the way of the dog. They lose their discretion and allow/accept what they should never have. A songwriter called it a slow fade. Slow fades happen because people allow ‘just a little sin’ and tell themselves that it isn’t a big deal or that there is no other way out.

God’s Holy Mountain.

God’s presence; this is where we are in Christ. Zion’s realm. The City of the Living God. The heavenly Jerusalem. A place with countless gatherings of angels celebrating the glory of God.

The legality of our presence

We have come to God as members of the church of Christ. Duly registered citizens of heaven.

We have come before;

Other members of the Church of Christ

Duly registered citizens of heaven

God, judge of all.

The spirits of just men redeemed in heaven.

Jesus, our mediator.

The sprinkled blood of Christ by which we obtain mercy and grace.

Come fearlessly. Recall Hebrews 4, where we are invited to go before the throne of grace boldly? Your presence here is legal. Did you see that the writer did not say that pastors should come boldly and their members can receive from them? Can you stop shortchanging yourself? That was the practice of Sinai, where Moses passed what he’d received from God. The practice at Zion says that every citizen should take his or her place. Our Lord and lover asks us to come boldly.

Finally… +

In the last few verses the writer reminded the believers of two very important things.

Obedience is vital. We have a greater responsibility to obey God than those who listened to Moses, because we have direct access to God.

One day, only eternal things will remain. Every material thing will be removed. Earthly legacies of no eternal impact mean nothing.

Our God is a consuming fire. If we are for Him, we must submit to His cleansing.

Think about these things.

Love,

Osi