The Two Wolves - Pt 5

Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. 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 promises. (Hebrews 6:9-12 ESV).

Our reading today gives a particularly important insight in our understanding of biblical hope. After warning his readers that it is possible for people who have had remarkable religious experiences to commit apostasy and go beyond the point of no return, he declares his confidence that is not the case for them. The reason is the kind of faith they have shown in the past and continue to show in their present perseverance. Faith is the key element that takes you on to live your big life. The Lord didn’t create us to live a life of mediocrity. I have heard it said that we were created to live life in the “faith-lane.” The faith-lane is not to be mistaken as the “fast lane” because often it is just the opposite. The reason the writer of Hebrews is so sure that his readers will not be among the apostates is that they have not only been loving servants for God’s sake in the past but are still loving servants. It is the emphasis on perseverance that comes to the forefront. They showed love in serving the saints in the past, and they still do. Their religious experience was not a temporary decision at camp or at a concert or an evangelistic crusade. It was continuing. Perseverance in godliness is the proof of the genuineness of a person’s salvation. That’s why the writer feels so sure of the people: they had served the saints, and they still do. He does give them a warning to press on and not become sluggish. But now the battle is described in terms of hope, not just in terms of love and service: “And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness in realizing the full assurance of hope until the end.” In other words, with all the zeal of the past that enabled us to work and love in the name of Christ, with all that zeal, we can keep on pursuing the full assurance of hope to the end. There is no fight, no quest, no challenge, no war more urgent than this. I suppose the best example of this is what is commonly known as “the scenic route.” I am often amazed how easily we miss the real beauty of our surroundings simply because we don’t slow down. The scenic route often insures that we slow down and really look at God’s work in our present circumstance. That requires us to strengthen our hope. Feed that wolf!