Hebrews 10:23-25
23 Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.24 And let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works, 25 not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
When you think about how you live your days, where does your hope really
lie? Going to college and getting out of the house? Getting married? The
perfect Pinterest-worthy home? Just a “little more” money? Nice kids? Your
“dream” job?
The author of Hebrews says “hold on to the confession of our
hope without wavering." If we follow Jesus, our hope should be in
Him. He suffered, died, and rose again to rescue us from the depravity of our
sinfulness. Through relationship with Him, He promises to never leave us or
forsake us, that He will work everything for good, that He will complete the
good work He started in us, and that we will get to enjoy eternal life with Him
forever. Hope in God. He keeps His promises. He is faithful. He is worthy of
hope.
In the
next phrase, we are directed to be “concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works.” What goes on in your head when you are concerned about something? For me, all
of my mental, emotional, and physical energies are funneled toward whatever is
of great concern. I study it. I focus on it. I am preoccupied with it. So how
do we be concerned for one another? We study each other. We focus on each
other. We let our minds be preoccupied for
each other. The author tells us to do this SO THAT we can encourage each other
to love and to do good.
What’s the motivation
behind all that love and good? The answer is found back in verse 23, “Let us
hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”
Love and good are rooted
in the faithfulness of God. It’s us
saying to one another in times of rejoicing and mourning, “Put your hope in
Jesus. He can be trusted. He is faithful. You are weak, but He is strong. He is
worth it all. He can be trusted.” We must remind one another of this hope in
order to love and to do good.
Verse 25 then makes it
very clear what this looks like... meet
together in order to encourage one another. These verses aren’t just about
Sunday church attendance, but about people conversing back and forth with
Christ-centered, hope-filled encouragement. Candeo Church is a church of (not just with) small
groups of people (connection groups) that meet together regularly. The goal of
these groups is exactly this - to consider how we might influence one another
to the love and good deeds displayed in the life of Jesus.
If we aren’t regularly
meeting together to encourage one another to love and good deeds, namely
sharing the Good News of Christ and making disciples as He instructs (Matt 28),
then as
believers we will undeniably waver and become ineffective. Don’t waste your
life. Don’t miss the focus of where your hope should be – in the faithfulness
of Jesus.
Jesus,
thank You for Your consistency and faithfulness. Your concern for me is great. Help me to have that same concern and
faithfulness for others. May Candeo Church be a church of connection groups that consistently show love and do good for each other. Help us to point each other to the only true hope – You. Amen.
