23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
We are encouraged to be like Christ. He is faithful, so we are called to be faithful like Him. It can be very hard to not swerve in our faith. As I travel to and from work each day I have to be attentive during a couple of turns that I make. The roads at those points are especially narrow and the shoulders drop off slightly. I really hate taking those curves at night or in the rain. When cars are coming the other direction, they often take over part of my lane, making my available driving space even narrower. If I swerve even a little bit, I will be off the road. I have to concentrate either on the center line or on the right edge of the road. If I look at the oncoming car, or get distracted by something else happening, I will be in the ditch in an instant. I have to stay focused and tune my attention to what I am doing. We need this kind of attention in our walk of faith. We can’t allow ourselves to get off focus. If we do, we can easily end up in the spiritual ditch. And there are so many things that could distract us in our faith journey. We have so many entertainments today. At the click of a button hours can be spent surfing and absorbing information, most of which has little positive impact on the Kingdom. We have packages of entertainment beamed into our homes, 120 channels at one low monthly price. We sit in meetings and text to our heart’s content. Our professional lives can pull us in multiple directions. We have to learn how to stay focused, to hold on unswervingly. Notice that the verse says we are to hold onto the hope we profess. This hope is a concrete, tangible object. This hope is not a wishful thinking “I hope I win the lottery.” Jesus is our hope. Without Him we all crash spiritually. Let us hold on to Him!
The Arnold Journey 