The first half of Hebrews 12 is full of fantastic images of how we should live the Christian life. It starts with the reality that we have been led in the faith by a long list of “pioneers” who have already been there and done that. Not only the list we just read through in the faith hall of fame of Hebrews 11, or just the Bible being full of examples cover to cover, but think about those in your family or circle – parents, grandparents, church members – there are many who have “blazed the way” in the faith. So while our own journey is unique, the road is not totally unclear. The writer tells us though we need to “get on with it” and realize that our faith walk matters. He gives us a list of things we need to be doing to really do that:
- Strip down
- Start running
- Never quit
- No extra spiritual fat
- No parasitic sins
- Keep your eyes on Jesus
- Study how He did it
Seven key phrases that describe the race of life we are in and how we need to FOCUS on getting after our walk with God. Can you see the trend here – it is described somewhat like training for a physical event – we need to have our spiritual running shoes on and be in spiritual shape. We need to have spiritual disciplines.
Sometimes when we are trying to walk with God, we start to think it is too hard and want to just give up. Realize that this is “an all-out match against sin”. Life is not just about getting up and working all day. It also has a very spiritual side to it that the enemy wants to defeat us in. So we get discouraged and want to give up. Check out what scripture says about that attitude: “When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he (Jesus) plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls”! Life is not a cake walk. I know that from personal experience. But we are not asked to do anything that others have not done before. And we will never be asked to do what Jesus did. So when we start to “feel sorry for ourselves” we need to realize that God is in the business of helping us win this battle against sin. He wants to make us like Jesus. He wants us to be godly and holy. Anything short of that is not acceptable. “God is educating you” – when we experience trials – “it’s training”. We are being put through the training camp of life to get our spiritual training on track. “God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best”. Oh I know well that “discipline isn’t much fun”. But it is the only way anyone really achieves victory in life. That is true of our spiritual life just like it is with anything we want to do in life. God is focused on making us “mature in our relationship with God”. Don’t fight it – embrace it and train hard. Get on with it and become a person who is spiritual fit and spends time daily making sure you are ready for the day.
