Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
(Heb. 12:1-3, NIV)
Greg: I hate long-distance running. Actually I just hate running. One of my least favorite running exercises was running while pulling sleds in high school athletics. We had 60-pound, 80-pound, and 120-pound sleds, which we attached to ourselves with a harness and ran 30 yards, turned around, and ran 30 yards back. Apart from the normal sleds, there was also a log, weighing in excess of 150 pounds, which one might pull. Unfortunately youthful pride and excessive vigor often lead to foolish choices (can I hear an amen from the house parents!), and someone always ends up trying to pull the log. Sometimes it can create quite a stir, so that all the other guys are watching and cheering on the guy pulling the log.
Often, after pulling the sleds, we would run some wind sprints without the sleds. The difference was dramatic! I felt so light and fast. Unstrapping the harness made all the difference in the world.
The author of Hebrews paints us a similar picture. Surrounding by a packed stadium of witnesses, we are to cast off our harnesses and run with perseverance. How do we do that, though? How do we throw off the sin that entangles us? We fix our eyes on Jesus. Throughout the week we have been talking about what we can see and what we cannot see. Here we are told what to focus our vision on.
Tiffany: I think we have a similar situation here. In our community there are so many brothers and sisters around us, supporting us like a stadium-full of fans. Along with that support, though, comes the weight that we are called to lay off. The enemy works against us, increasing fear and doubt even as we struggle to run the race set before us.
Sometimes we feel like our feet are stuck in the mud, and that is why these passages about endurance speak to us. They tell us how to go on when we can't go on. When Jesus was on the cross he called out to his Father, and we must do the same when we are at the end of our ropes. Though it is hardest to depend on God when we have heavy burdens, it is really when we have those burdens that we most need to depend on God.
Greg: Definitely. The reason we can throw off our burden and run is that we see Jesus, the founder and forerunner of our faith, who hung on as he was nailed to the cross. Like the heroes of the faith, Jesus looked ahead (and above), fixing his eyes on the joy set before him. Things didn't really turn out that great for Jesus, but he put up with the shame of the cross because he was a pilgrim and an exile here.
The founder of faith, Jesus, held on and endured, even when death stared him right in the eye. That endurance, as we have seen before in Hebrews, led him to the right hand of God. The author urges us to consider this Christ, who endured death and opposition. Christ is our example in endurance, the goal on which we must fix our eyes. As we sojourn here, we know that we are headed for the heavenly city when we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.
Tiffany: I agree that we have to focus on Jesus. So much of our thought about endurance has to do with pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps. When we try to endure on our own power, though, we aren't running a race. We're just running on a treadmill. We may be getting faster, but we're not going anywhere. At the heart of the matter is this - enduring tough times makes us better, not because we make ourselves stronger but because we learn to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.
A toddler doesn't stroll around leisurely, taking in the scenery. A toddler looks straight ahead, focusing completely and totally on where he or she has to step in order to walk. This is the kind of endurance we need. Toddlers are not cross-country champions, but they do know how to channel all their energy in one direction. The point of endurance is not necessarily simply to bear up and take it. Endurance is about locking on to Christ, our forerunner.
Greg: The author presents Jesus as an example, primarily so that the audience will not give up. The readers are very close to "grow(ing) weary and los(ing) heart," but the word of exhortation urges them to hang on and bend their vision toward Jesus, who also hung on when he was tired and burned out.
Grace and peace,
Greg and Tiffany
Showing posts with label perseverance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label perseverance. Show all posts
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
At present we do not see ...
It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. But there is a place where someone has testified: "What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet."
(Heb 2:5-8, NIV)
The writer quotes a familiar psalm to prove the superiority of Jesus. It was not to angels that God has subjected the eternal world, but to Jesus. This "Son of Man" has been crowned and exalted as lord of the universe.
In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
(Heb 2:8b-9)
The subjection of all reality to the authority of Jesus is total. What is the Son of Man? He is everything; there is nothing that is not subject to him. Yet, the author notes, at present we do not see everything subject to him. The day to day experiences of the community reading this book contradict the belief that the Son of Man has been made Lord of all. The community bears the burden of disgrace and thankless, painful labor everyday, and Christ does not seem to be Lord. When their backs and hearts break with all the sufferings these people face, it seems that there is much which is not in subjection to him.
One of the fundamental divisions of reality for the author of Hebrews is between what we can see and what we cannot see. Here, as is often the case, what is unseen is more real than what is seen. Although we do not see everything in subjection to Jesus, we do see Jesus, the same Son of Man who was "crowned with glory and honor" (vv. 7, 9). We see that he was crowned because he suffered death, in order to suffer for others. The sufferings of the readers take on a new light. Their own struggle is a proclamation that the world is subject to Jesus. Everything was subjected to Jesus because of his death, and so the willingness of his followers to suffer for others is a pronouncement that Christ's victory is won.
This is a completely different view on endurance and perseverance. I don't know about you, but I have a hard time swallowing the "go to church and keep on trucking" mantra sometimes. When you're bone-tired, feeling depleted and unappreciated, you need something else to pull you through, because at some point you can't simply pull yourself up by your boot straps anymore.
What if we recast our weariness as an announcement to the world that Jesus suffered and the world has therefore been placed under his authority? What if when we are in danger of loosing our grip, we had someone who has been there to hold onto? Most importantly, what if we looked beyond the lack of subjection that we see and simply saw Jesus - Jesus who was crowned because he suffered? Jesus has been there, and so we go through pain and fatigue and loss with him. Now that's a reason to keep on going.
Blessings,
Greg and Tiffany
(Heb 2:5-8, NIV)
The writer quotes a familiar psalm to prove the superiority of Jesus. It was not to angels that God has subjected the eternal world, but to Jesus. This "Son of Man" has been crowned and exalted as lord of the universe.
In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
(Heb 2:8b-9)
The subjection of all reality to the authority of Jesus is total. What is the Son of Man? He is everything; there is nothing that is not subject to him. Yet, the author notes, at present we do not see everything subject to him. The day to day experiences of the community reading this book contradict the belief that the Son of Man has been made Lord of all. The community bears the burden of disgrace and thankless, painful labor everyday, and Christ does not seem to be Lord. When their backs and hearts break with all the sufferings these people face, it seems that there is much which is not in subjection to him.
One of the fundamental divisions of reality for the author of Hebrews is between what we can see and what we cannot see. Here, as is often the case, what is unseen is more real than what is seen. Although we do not see everything in subjection to Jesus, we do see Jesus, the same Son of Man who was "crowned with glory and honor" (vv. 7, 9). We see that he was crowned because he suffered death, in order to suffer for others. The sufferings of the readers take on a new light. Their own struggle is a proclamation that the world is subject to Jesus. Everything was subjected to Jesus because of his death, and so the willingness of his followers to suffer for others is a pronouncement that Christ's victory is won.
This is a completely different view on endurance and perseverance. I don't know about you, but I have a hard time swallowing the "go to church and keep on trucking" mantra sometimes. When you're bone-tired, feeling depleted and unappreciated, you need something else to pull you through, because at some point you can't simply pull yourself up by your boot straps anymore.
What if we recast our weariness as an announcement to the world that Jesus suffered and the world has therefore been placed under his authority? What if when we are in danger of loosing our grip, we had someone who has been there to hold onto? Most importantly, what if we looked beyond the lack of subjection that we see and simply saw Jesus - Jesus who was crowned because he suffered? Jesus has been there, and so we go through pain and fatigue and loss with him. Now that's a reason to keep on going.
Blessings,
Greg and Tiffany
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Our place in the story
After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' assistant, saying, "My servant Moses is dead. Now proceed to cross the Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the Israelites. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, as I promised to Moses. From the wilderness and the Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, to the Great Sea in the west shall be your territory. No one shall be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.”
Joshua 1:1-9 NRSV
This is precisely where passion and courage come in. When we understand our place in the story, passion and courage are required. When God's children truly see the possibillities that God places before them to change the world, the godly response of their heart is the passion that drives them to pursue that dream, that opportunity for God to glorify himself through them.
At the same time, when that dream is tested (and God will allow it to be), courage is what is required to persevere. Our passion pushes us to finish the course even though it presents obstacles that our vision (but not God's) did not allow us to see at the beginning. Our godly courage keeps us in the boat precisely when the human part of us wants to bail.
Let's try to find our place in the story, and for our children's sake, let's help them to passionately seek and courageously discover their place (it won't be the same as ours) as well.
Grace and peace,
Ron
Thursday, July 24, 2008
A pile of stones
Everywhere you turn in the book of Joshua, there are rocks. Sometimes they are single stones, sometimes they are stacked with a particular number, sometimes they are just a massive pile of rocks.
Twelve stones are brought from the bed of the Jordan to serve as a memorial of the crossing of the twelve tribes (Josh 4). Knives are made from stone to make the people holy and one (Josh 5.2-8). This caused the reproach of Egypt to be rolled away like a stone (Josh 5.9). Jericho (Josh 6) fell into a heap of stones [except the stones of Rahab's house remained standing, the original witness protection plan]. When Achan erred, he was stoned and buried under a pile of stones (Josh 7) so that his error would not quickly be forgotten. When Ai fell (Josh 8), not only was it left as a heap of burnt rocks, its king was buried under a pile of rocks (Josh 8.29). Then, on top of Mount Ebal, an altar of uncut stones is built to worship God, and Joshua copies the Book of the Law onto stones (Josh 8.30-35). When the five kings of the Amorites come against Israel, God makes even water into rocks, and more Amorites die from hailstones than from the sword (Josh 10.5-11). When those kings hide in a cave, they are trapped inside with rocks, and after their deaths, that same cave is made into a tomb sealed with those rocks (Josh 10.16-27). A stone memorializing Bohan, son of Reuben, is made into a boundary marker (Josh 15.6; 18.17) and a silent reminder of a promise fulfilled.
Surely this has the least curious of us asking, "Why all of these rocks?" It might just be that the promised land has lots of rocks, and although that is true, it does not explain why the writer of this story bothered to tell us about them. Why all of these rocks?
The answer comes at the end of the book and the end of the life of Joshua. Joshua sets up a large stone near an oak near the holy place of the Lord (Josh 24.26). He then says, "See . . . this stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the Lord has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God." You have all heard the expressions: "If these walls could talk . . ." or "If these rocks could speak . . . ." For the people of God, all of nature stands as a witness to the acts of God through his people, and their own acts of wilfulness.
Not far from Hollis stands a rock, a stone not likely to be moved by the hands of men. It stands as a witness to the lives of a father and his son and their God, and their relationship with one another: Ron, Ben, YHWH. Its testimony would help you understand how close these three have become because of the events that happened in its presence some time ago. Triumph. Disaster. Pain. Hope. Fear. Courage. Power. Exhaustion. Salvation. And every time that this father and son return with their God, that stone's testimony is heard again in all three hearts.
What testimony will the rocks and trees in Harmon County give about our time there? God only knows now, but if we are truly passionate about our children and our God, now is the time for us to think and plan and prepare for those moments so that we can have some assurance that God will be glorified by that testimony.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Heb 12.1,2
Twelve stones are brought from the bed of the Jordan to serve as a memorial of the crossing of the twelve tribes (Josh 4). Knives are made from stone to make the people holy and one (Josh 5.2-8). This caused the reproach of Egypt to be rolled away like a stone (Josh 5.9). Jericho (Josh 6) fell into a heap of stones [except the stones of Rahab's house remained standing, the original witness protection plan]. When Achan erred, he was stoned and buried under a pile of stones (Josh 7) so that his error would not quickly be forgotten. When Ai fell (Josh 8), not only was it left as a heap of burnt rocks, its king was buried under a pile of rocks (Josh 8.29). Then, on top of Mount Ebal, an altar of uncut stones is built to worship God, and Joshua copies the Book of the Law onto stones (Josh 8.30-35). When the five kings of the Amorites come against Israel, God makes even water into rocks, and more Amorites die from hailstones than from the sword (Josh 10.5-11). When those kings hide in a cave, they are trapped inside with rocks, and after their deaths, that same cave is made into a tomb sealed with those rocks (Josh 10.16-27). A stone memorializing Bohan, son of Reuben, is made into a boundary marker (Josh 15.6; 18.17) and a silent reminder of a promise fulfilled.
Surely this has the least curious of us asking, "Why all of these rocks?" It might just be that the promised land has lots of rocks, and although that is true, it does not explain why the writer of this story bothered to tell us about them. Why all of these rocks?
The answer comes at the end of the book and the end of the life of Joshua. Joshua sets up a large stone near an oak near the holy place of the Lord (Josh 24.26). He then says, "See . . . this stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the Lord has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God." You have all heard the expressions: "If these walls could talk . . ." or "If these rocks could speak . . . ." For the people of God, all of nature stands as a witness to the acts of God through his people, and their own acts of wilfulness.
Not far from Hollis stands a rock, a stone not likely to be moved by the hands of men. It stands as a witness to the lives of a father and his son and their God, and their relationship with one another: Ron, Ben, YHWH. Its testimony would help you understand how close these three have become because of the events that happened in its presence some time ago. Triumph. Disaster. Pain. Hope. Fear. Courage. Power. Exhaustion. Salvation. And every time that this father and son return with their God, that stone's testimony is heard again in all three hearts.
What testimony will the rocks and trees in Harmon County give about our time there? God only knows now, but if we are truly passionate about our children and our God, now is the time for us to think and plan and prepare for those moments so that we can have some assurance that God will be glorified by that testimony.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Heb 12.1,2
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