Bible Reading: Hebrews 10:23-25
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,
not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing,
but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
A Reflection:
The writer to the Hebrews encourages us to hold unswervingly to the hope we profess. I wonder what the word ‘swerving’ conjures up in your mind. Maybe it’s a boat on the sea, swerving around as it is blown about by the changing winds. Maybe it is driving on a motorway with cars swerving around you, as the habit of overtaking on the inside seems to be increasing. Or maybe it’s walking home after too much to drink!
Whatever the image, the idea of swerving around has a sense of danger about it, to ourselves or to others.
The hope we profess as Christians is rooted in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Through faith in this our hope of salvation in all its many colours: peace, joy, love, healing, wholeness, forgiveness, reconciliation; and our hope of eternal life, are secure.
As Christians, the storms of life may buffet us and sometimes cause our faith to swerve off course. Our direction of travel, spiritually, may not always be straight, but if we keep our eyes fixed on the central truth that Jesus died and rose again, we will withstand the storms, and the gentle breeze of God's Holy Spirit will guide us back on course.
The actions of those around us may also sometimes cause our faith journey to swerve and threaten to throw us off course. Again, returning to the central truth that Jesus died and rose again will restore us and set us back in the right direction.
And sometimes it is our own actions that cause our walk of faith to swerve. Returning again to the central truth that Jesus died and rose again will bring us to the place of forgiveness and restore us on the path God has marked out for us.
We are not alone in finding our faith beginning to swerve at times. That is one of the reasons why as Christians we have each other. Let us then be aware of those who are struggling. As the writer to the Hebrews says, let us not give up on meeting together, but let us encourage one another and spur one another on towards love and good deeds, as we hold unswervingly to the faith we profess.
Pray:
Lord Jesus, when the storms of life threaten to blow me off course, remind me of your death and resurrection, and of the hope we all have through faith in you. Amen
Faithful one, so unchanging