Make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation- 2nd Peter 3:14b-15a NIV
One morning this last week I woke up late and a lot less than rested. Nonetheless, I was determined to do my regular devotional reading. It just so happened that the only Bible in the room was a chronological Bible. Chronological Bibles aren’t bad, but every book and even some events are in historical order rather than the traditional format. Because everything is in a weird order, I knew it would take me literally forever to find the books I’ve been reading (Luke and Colossians). I simply did not have time for that nonsense. So, in the interest of getting to work on time I chose to employ a devotional technique I don’t actually recommend. I did this thing where I flip open my Bible and whatever I open to is my spiritual food for the day. In the interest of honesty I will admit I totally aimed for the New Testament. Once I attempted this technique without aiming for the New Testament and ended up in Jeremiah fifteen. Not good. Nothing but death and bad news in that chapter. I spent the better part of a day wondering if God was trying to tell me something.
So anyway.
My Bible flipped open to book of Hebrews. I was pretty happy because I really like the book of Hebrews. Then I realized I was in the middle of Hebrews five. I ended up reading 5:11-6:12. Truth-be-told, so far as encouragement goes it wasn’t much better than Jeremiah fifteen (this is why I don’t recommend this method). However, there was a lot to chew on (metaphorically speaking) once I leaned into it.
I have always assumed Hebrews five and six is mostly about the dangers of backsliding. However, after spending a good part of my day meditating on the passage, I really think the author is getting at something a bit deeper. The passage is less about going backwards spiritually and more about what happens when we stop making the effort necessary to go forward spiritually. The consequences of spiritual inertia are never good. We stop producing good fruit, we lose spiritual knowledge and we stop caring about we are called to live in this world (Ephesians 4:1, Philippians 2:14-16, Colossians 1:10, 2nd Thessalonians 2:12, 2nd Peter 1:3-11). If the whole messy mess goes on long enough, we can fall into serious sin, become a disgrace to God’s reputation and even become spiritually useless (Hebrews 6:1-8.)
Yikes.
Nobody wants that. In the interest of avoiding all of the above negativity I want to share four choices that will keep us moving forward spiritually:
Choose discernment and wisdom where relational “experts” are concerned-
Our culture has reached a weird new low. “Experts” actually teach that animosity, ongoing resentment and unforgiveness is the healthiest emotional option for most people most of the time. This is played out in our cultural obsession with boundaries, estrangement and cutting friends and family off for the filmiest of reasons (rudeness, thoughtlessness, toxicity). Counselors and even some pastors no longer instruct individuals on how to work out their issues or forgive. Because we are ultimately all sinners this teaching feels right and sensible, but it is worldly to the core and horribly ill-advised (Romans 3:23, Romans 5:12). Hanging on to resentment is always a bad idea, because holding on to resentment is a fast track to bitterness. Bitterness is a destructive and defiling (polluting, corrupting, ruining) force in our lives (Matthew 6:12-15, Ephesians 4:29-32, Hebrews 12:15).
Never forget that faith is a muscle-
Contrary to popular belief, faith is not something Christians receive fully formed and ready to put into action (Luke 13:19). Faith is more like a muscle that must be used and worked regularly for it to reach its full potential. Practically speaking, this means every situation we come up against in life is an opportunity either for our faith to grow stronger or weaker (1st Corinthians 10:15, 2nd Thessalonians 1:3). Faith grows and becomes more robust anytime we choose to do what God tells us to do (James 2:17-26, Hebrews 11). Conversely, lack of obedience guarantees our faith will be feeble and inadequate when we need it most.
Lean into the hard things-
There are some obvious blessings to living in this age. There are there also realities to this living in this age that make life challenging from a spiritual perspective (2nd Timothy 3:1-5). That said, God’s people are called to lean into the tough stuff of life (John 16:33, James 1:1-4, 1st Peter 1:6-7, Revelation 7:14). This is true even though our every instinct we have tells us to retreat when life becomes challenging. Leaning into the tough stuff is how we make a difference in the lives of others. It’s also how we become wise and discerning. Consciencely choosing to seek Jesus and grow through the difficulties we experience is the key to leaning into the tough stuff. Leaning in with a mindset of faith prevents spiritually passivity and keeps us moving forward.
And finally:
Keep our eyes on the prize-
The prize is more than just eternal life in heaven. Eternal life will be amazing but it’s not the real prize. The real prize will be hearing Jesus say upon our arrival, “well done good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:20-28). The real prize comes to those who choose to do the hard work of living a life faithfulness, spiritual forward motion and leaning into every lesson God wants to teach us.
