Storybook Faithনমুনা

In the introduction to this study I shared a bit about how these verses inspired me to write these pages. I shared how these verses show us that Jesus is not only the author, the originator and designer of our faith, He is also the perfecter. In some versions it says He is the “finisher.” It shows us that legacies are not made, and stories are not created by those who only begin. They are made by finishers. 

Those who not only start things, but perfect them—make them whole. I hope that this study, together with God’s word, has inspired you to endure the race that has been set before you. That by fixing your eyes on Jesus, our author and finisher, you too decide to be an author and a finisher of your dreams and your faith. Chapter 12 of Hebrews gives us some insight into how to do this. It sheds some light on Jesus’s mindset.

At the end of verse 2 it tells us that Jesus endured the pain of the cross for the joy set before him. I wrote about this briefly in a previous book, Joy: More Than an Emotion, a Fruit of the Spirit. I wrote about how that one phrase shows us such a clear picture of the kind of attitude it takes to obtain victory. It takes the ability to look ahead at the reward, not on your current circumstance. When Jesus was on the cross, He was able to endure because He knew that the pain He was experiencing was simply part of what was needed in order to reach the “joy” that He believed was coming.

We learned in the last chapter that faith is being able to live and act on the assurance of what we hope for. Jesus epitomized this when He was able to sacrifice himself on a cross for the assurance of a joy that lay ahead. This is the attitude that is needed to reach the joyful ending of his story. If we are to also have this attitude, then we must be able to, like Jesus, push away distractions, sin, and any unnecessary weight that entangles us. We must be able to sacrifice our current comfort in order to experience victory.

My prayer for you, as we end our time together, is that you finish strong. I pray that you are able to endure what you are facing at this present moment in the way Jesus endured the cross: with eyes fixed on the joy ahead. As someone who has endured many trials of the faith, I can tell you: there is always joy ahead. Even when you are at your lowest, the author of your story has already written in a triumphant plot twist if you are only able to endure. I believe that you have completed this study of hebrews for a reason.

I believe that the Lord connected us so that you would be encouraged to "throw off every weight, and the sin that so easily entangles” and fiercely fix your eyes on Jesus, even after this study has finished. I want to encourage you to repent of any sin that has been entangling you. I hope that afterwards you would further anchor yourself to Jesus through his word and continue to use studies like this one to “draw near to him” as we discussed in previous chapters.

I hope that you will not neglect corporate worship as we are encouraged not to do in Hebrews 10, and that you find a solid, faith-filled church to continue to grow in and faithfully attend. Finally, I hope that you will find the strength to persevere and that your faith will grow daily as you continue to get to know the author and perfecter of your story, Jesus Christ.

Amen.