Hebrews 10:32-39
Have you ever wondered why? Why would someone join that __________ knowing the
responsibility, the personal, the physical, the monetary cost of being part of
that group. Being part of a group
whose goal is to serve others, to put others before self, to put your life on
the line so that others can be blessed, what group comes into your mind, whose
name would you fill the blank with?
Let me share what popped into my mind, our special forces, our Navy
seals, but what about Christians, should they have come to my mind first? Or have we as Christians joined the
Christian army with little or no understanding of the cost, the responsibility,
the personal, the physical, and the monetary cost of being a member of the body
of Christ, His church? At Oakwood,
the local church that Jan and I are part of, we are being ask to have a
lifestyle of the “Ripple effect,” investing in the kingdom of God, and how that
investment will reap a reward, now, and in the life of others long after we are
gone.
As I read Hebrews 10:32-39, this question came into my mind,
have we been so blessed that we have no history of giving of self, of putting
others needs before our agenda, of being part of something bigger than
self? The writer of Hebrews asks
his audience to recall; and what were they to recall, the personal cost of
being in Christ. “But recall the former days when after you were
enlightened, (received Christ into your Heart, turned over ownership
to Him) you endured a hard struggle with suffering,
sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes
being partners with those so treated.
For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the
plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better
possession and an abiding one.” A
faith that is built on giving of self, of serving others, of seeing others more
important than self, is a faith in full agreement with the instruction given to
us by Jesus. Do you recall when
the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons and ask that they
sit on each side of Him in His kingdom.
Church listen; “You know that the rulers of
the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority oven
them. It shall not be so among
you. But whoever would be great
among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be
your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to
give his life as a ransom for many.”
If you some how joined with little understanding of the
requirements of being in this Christian army, you have been informed, the
Christian life is a life of serving others, to put others before self, to put
your life on the line, so that others can be blessed, it is giving, what you
cannot keep, to gain what you cannot earn, it is letting go and letting God do
it all through you. Hebrews 10:37,
is instructing us that the Lord is coming back verse 38, “but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he
shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” If you have put on Christ, then you have an
obligation to follow His orders; “give, and it will
be given unto you. Good measure,
pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put onto your lap. For with the measure you use it will be
measured back to you.”
(Luke 6:38) Do you believe
what Jesus said?
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
No comments:
Post a Comment