“Now we desire each of you to demonstrate the same diligence for the full assurance of your hope until the end, so that you won’t become lazy but will be imitators of those who inherit the promises through faith and perseverance.” (Hebrews 6:11-12)
It’s football season and I’m reminded of my college days looking forward to watching our football team compete each Saturday during the Fall season. I remember home games and participating with other students in a cheer whenever our team was on offense. The cheerleaders would yell something and all of us fans would respond by yelling, “Keep on Truckin’ that away.” We’d shout this while jumping and pushing the people next to us in the direction of where the offense was attempting to score a touchdown (people whose love language was physical touch really enjoyed this cheer).
In today’s passage in Hebrews 6, the topic of falling away from one’s faith is discussed. This passage has been one of the most heated debates in all of New Testament texts. Instead of getting into a theological discussion of whether these people were actually Christians or even God’s elect, I am going to focus on verses 11 and 12 to give us a boost of encouragement of how we should be living our lives on earth. The writer of Hebrews is encouraging us like a good coach (or sports fan) to keep on going and to keep on “truckin’” to the goal that God has called each of us to attain. We need to keep on “keepin’ on”. Followers of Jesus need to keep pressing forward. Press on with that hope until the very end. We need to imitate those who have already inherited (notice it’s not the word, “earned”) God’s promises. When we fail to keep pressing on, discouragement often makes us sluggish (or lazy).
Let’s remember to gather with other believers in community groups and to read our Bible daily to remind ourselves of those followers of God who went before us and pressed on to the goal that God has for us. When we became a follower of Jesus, the adventure didn’t stop there; rather, it was the beginning of a journey of growing in our faith and increasing our trust and hope in Jesus Christ. We need each other to encourage one another to keep on truckin’ forward through faith and perseverance to what God has in store for us. It won’t be easy sometimes, but it’s always worth it.