Causing a stir that promotes love
...let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him...Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:22-25
This section of Scripture starts in our life of worship, with all its rich meaning. Our worship should be characterized by confidence and sincerity. This is in contrast with the timidity that normally marks contemporary Christianity. The writer of Hebrews reminds us of the privilege that we have as believers to come to the throne of God “without wavering.” Our confidence should not be presumptuous but coming into God’s presence “with sincere hearts fully trusting him.” Sincerity flows out from “the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.” This hope does not only bolster the confidence of the believer, it also affects our witness in the world. In a society often characterized by hopelessness and despair, as reflected in popular songs and slogans, this witness is powerful. It all links with the faithfulness of God in keeping His promises that provides strength to the believer and an offer to the seeker. We are not alone in this journey of faith. This is why we are called upon to “motivate one another to acts of love and good works” (v. 24). We are exhorted to cause a stir, but one which leads to love and Christian activity. Such stirring cannot be done from a distance. Human nature changes little and the temptation to keep distant from fellowship happened in the first century as much as in the twenty-first. From other writers we know what excuses were found for absenteeism from church attendance. There was ignorance of the truth about the importance of togetherness in the work of the gospel; there was a spirit of superiority believing that ‘I do not need others’; there was a fear of being counted among a questionable crowd; there was that natural laziness, not wanting too demanding a commitment. Christianity is an experience of fellowship. It needs a culture, designed and established by God, in which to express itself by establishing a relationship among those who are called by God made clean by His blood (v. 22). Withdrawing from the Christian community and staying away from the gathering of believers will not meet this need for the Christian.
Blessings
