“For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promise.” Hebrews 6:9-12
When I’m feeling weary/exhausted/spent/done/finished/ready to give up, the writer Hebrews delivers truth to my soul. This passage, along with, “Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus . . . “
Consider Jesus. When you’re feeling lonely, forgotten, weak, emotionally, physically, or spiritually “spent” – consider Jesus. Jesus, who chose to lower himself, to take on flesh, to show us that our strength, peace, light, and life is not found in notoriety or worldly success, but in God alone. He endured the humility of humanity, suffered, died, and was raised so that we could know and serve God in “newness of life (Ro 6). He was not passive or guarded in his mission, he was not afraid to speak truth. He was open, honest, and earnest in his communication with those around him.
Take heart, my faithful friends, those who are doing good things, fighting the good fight, quietly loving your neighbors, quietly creating things that may never been seen, heard, or read by the masses. The Lord is using you to reveal pieces of his nature to those around you. You’re faithfulness gives people a glimpse of eternity. What you’re doing is important. Don’t give up, don’t lose your zeal, don’t give in to passivity, don’t lose your vision, don’t stop being earnest (even if it’s “too much” for some folks), don’t stop creating. Remember the words of Paul, “I will gladly spend and be spent for your souls.” Be who God created you to be, fulfill your calling. Leave the rest to him.
