Heb 12:2
Our verse today is smack dab in the middle of a paragraph. We can’t really understand it’s meaning unless we look at the context around it. Heb 11 is considered the- “Hall of Fame” heroes of the Jewish faith- chapter of the Bible. It is an entire chapter of accounts of people throughout history who trusted God and followed Him. Many saw or were part of miracles, some spoke prophesies, others saw their lives spared or their families lives spared or raised from the dead. If you haven’t read through it lately it is a powerful reminder of who our God is. Chapter 12 of Hebrews starts out with the word, “therefore”. “Therefore”, lets us know that to understand what is coming, we have to know what was written before, so let’s look at chapter 12 in the context those heroes of the faith in chapter 11.
Heb 12, (vs 1) “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
(vs 2) We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting Him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.
(vs 3) Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin. “
Jesus is our champion. He initiated our faith by doing the work of becoming human and giving His life on the cross to buy us out of sin, wash us clean and place us back into God’s family. Is this not enough? Has anyone else ever offered to take your place in punishment for the whole of your sin? But God’s love is so vast, so deep and so all-encompassing, that giving His life for ours is not enough. He wants more for us. Being saved from death is not a big enough gift from Him. He wants to help us change and become more like He is. He wants to help us love others like He loves. He wants us to experience the joy that He has. So He is willing to enter our lives, have relationship with us and do the work of helping us change, to perfect us. Are you not blown away by this kind of love…this sacrifice…these gifts?
Since Jesus has done the work of making a way for us to have relationship with Him, what is our part in this relationship? How do we hold up our end of the bargain? We all know that relationships require two parties and both parties have to be committed to the relationship in time and energy for that relationship to form and stay healthy. There is usually ebb and flow in relationships where one is able to give more time or energy for a period of time than the other, but one party can not sustain the relationship on it’s own over the long haul. Verse 2 tells us the short answer, “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus”. So simply written, but I feel like it takes a lifetime to learn how to do this consistently throughout each day, so we are characterized by focusing on Him. So what if we start thinking of our relationship with God just like we do any other relationship we currently value? Instead of the “Sunday school” answers we are temped to throw at this question of what our part is, let’s consider what it takes to grow and maintain human relationships. Long term, close relationships require time spent together. Even in the rare cases where relationships grow from a long distance, time communicating between the two parties is essential. As trust grows between the parties, honesty, vulnerability, and shared experiences become the foundation of the relationship. When all of these criteria are met consistently, love and relationship grow and flourish. The Bible is clear that we are made in God’s image so it stands to reason that the same efforts that foster relationship with humans must be effective in our relationship with God. To evaluate our relationship with God, I think we have to ask if we are actually spending time with Him consistently. Are we trustworthy to keep our word to Him? Are we honest and vulnerable with Him allowing Him in to all parts of our hearts no matter how uncomfortable we feel about showing them to Him? Are we sharing our days with Him so we have experience to draw on in the future when we face tough circumstances and feel alone in them? I don’t know about you, but I have work to do.
Last, because we are looking at what our part is in relationship with God, we can’t forget about addressing our sin on a regular basis. If we aren’t willing to be honest, name our sin and ask for forgiveness in conversation with Him, we are creating a canyon between our selves and God. Jesus’s payment is the only way to bridge that canyon and we have to acknowledge it when we realize we have sinned. If we don’t address it routinely and ask for forgiveness, our relationship will not be able to grow. We all know this in our heads, but are we actually in the habit of looking back over our days for sin? Are we consistently making time each day to acknowledge the specific choices we make and actions we take or don’t take, to tell God we know we have messed up? Do we go to Him throughout the day when we realize we have sinned? This is part of honesty and vulnerability and without it relationship is broken. Praise God that He never withholds His gifts, time or energy from us! Jesus is our champion who initiates and perfects our faith!