Inheritance for persistent faith
Key Verses: 1, 7, 11, 18, 19
These first few verses lay out some of the most basic topics we need to understand if we want to conduct our lives the way Jesus wants us to live. Notice that we must understand who Christ is first and foremost. Then we need to understand repentance and faith, baptism, restoration, the resurrection and Judgment Day. Without an understanding of these things, it would be pretty hard to claim you are a mature Jesus-follower.
And yet, the sad thing is that so many American Christians don’t know the basics such as these. They would flunk the most basic theology test. I would recommend 30 Days To Understanding The Bible, and 10 Basic Steps if you want to get a quick overview. 30 Days focuses on the Bible and 10 Basic Steps focuses on beliefs. It is not a sin to be immature in the faith; it is one if you know it and choose to stay there. That is what the readers of Hebrews were in danger of doing. They were staying immature.
Remember, it is not enough to hear the Gospel message, it must be applied or it has no value to you. Just like land that produces thorns. The readers, like us, must continue to pursue Christ to the end of our lives. We can become lazy in our spiritual walk.
But it can be hard to stay faithful when answers don’t come quickly. Abraham waited over 20 years for the promise to be realized. Twenty years! And I get impatient after a few days. So how do we keep trusting a promise even when we have to wait a long time?
The writer tells us that we have hope as an anchor for our soul. When our soul could go adrift, our hope continues to tap into God’s presence. Then the storms of life and the struggle to trust don’t blow us off course.
The greatest struggle for me centers around suffering. When I see suffering, my own or in other people, my heart yearns for resolution. It would be easy in those moments to let the suffering block my view of God. I must choose to continue to trust even when I don’t see the answer coming. I can’t let my questions become the central focus of my life or I will go adrift into bitterness and resentment. And a life in bitterness and resentment is a miserable life.
The Arnold Journey 