Jan 02, 2014 Words of Grace – The Need for Endurance
The last time I ran a marathon, I wanted to change the course distance at mile 20. I wanted to exchange my lungs and legs for those of an elite athlete. I wanted to move the hands of the clock forward so the race would be over. But what I had to do was run with endurance.
“You have need of endurance,” says the writer of the letter to the Hebrews in the New Testament (Hebrews 10:36). The listeners who heard the letter read were a discouraged, fearful, and distracted group of people. They were tempted to cool off in their commitment to Christ or to quit and turn back from him altogether. They probably thought what they needed was some kind of change in their circumstances, relationships, or personalities that would make the life of devotion to Christ easier. What they heard, however, was that they needed steadfast faith to continue on with Christ whether or not these changes could be made.
We all need the endurance of faith. Endurance comes not by changing things or even by changing our basic personality makeup, but by looking to Jesus and keeping our gaze on him. This is the message of the letter of Hebrews.
This Sunday at Grace, we begin preaching from Hebrews. I need the vision of Christ and the call to endure that is in Hebrews. I know you do, too. Join us, and bring a friend with you.
– Scott