[Read Hebrews 12]

Saying “happy new year!” will ring a little hollow this year, won’t it? It used to be that you’d grab the cutie in your life, count down joyously, share a smooch, and then cheer in the new year. Now? It almost feels like dread welcoming in the new year.

I always thought new years was a rubbish holiday anyway. No doubt, there are already many individuals planning their “new year, new me!” bits, resolved to make this year “their year!” I remember a pastor who would always declare that every new year was the year of the Lord’s blessing in our lives. Somehow, he was wrong every time.

Pro-tip: Waiting for an arbitrary date to make a significant life change is not the path towards a full life. There’s never a better time than right now. Still, people will resolve to go to the gym more, maybe start that business? But we all know that two months after new years those gyms will be empty and those business websites abandoned. Resolutions are pointless if they aren’t backed by full-on commitment. And if you didn’t commit the other 364 days of this year, what’s to say you’ll start when the clock strikes midnight on the 31st?

Suppose you’re going to do something. There’s no time like the present. There’s no better moment than this one right here and now.

But that’s not really what we’re here to look at today.

Ironically, I imagine the church could do with some resolutions. I’m equally as cynical that these won’t come to pass, but one can dream. If nothing else, this year opened up the church like a can of worms, revealing our true nature; The good, bad, and the truly horrifying. I’ve had countless conversations with believers that have abandoned their churches amid this trying year. And it wasn’t because of rampant liberalism or marxist ideology or anything else your crazy Facebook friend rants about with their troubling abundance of free time.

It’s because they wanted off of the sinking ship.

The celebrity pastors, the false theology, the emaciated gospel; The church machine business looked at most of us as nothing more than dollar signs for a non-profit business model. I’ve said it many times and will declare many more; If people aren’t important to you because they stop coming to your church, you’re not running a ministry but a business. A failing one, at that.

What has the church become? Too political, perhaps. Also mired in controversy. Ineffective at actual change and lacking authenticity. Maybe the church became less about Jesus and more about… well… church-y stuff. As I said last week, the church won’t die, and I do mean that. We, as the church, as the children of God, will endure. But this current bloated and ineffectual religious establishment? I sometimes wonder if the writing’s on the walls.

Maybe the church needs a potent bit of discipline. This portion of Hebrews certainly addresses that, although that also is not what I want to talk about today. Instead, let’s look at what this scripture says to us as individual believers and not the religious establishment seemingly intent on eating itself alive. After all, Colossians instructs us to:

“Set [our] minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For [we] have died, and [our lives are] hidden with Christ in God.”

-Colossians 2:2-3

Paul’s Epistles feel super relevant to the current day. Nowhere is that more clear than his letter to the Hebrews. A book written to challenge, encourage, and empower every one of us, Hebrews is an integral part of scripture (No more important than any other, to be clear). According to this letter, Jesus Christ is superior to all other prophets and all other claims to truth. God has given us Christ, whose birth we just finished celebrating, and because of this generous gift, we really ought to listen to what Jesus says. The consequences of ignoring God are harrowing, and with this truth in mind, Hebrews pulls from many portions of the Old Testament in declaring Christ as the perfect expression of God’s plan for humanity.

Furthermore, this book presents challenging ideas about our faith; something made blindly apparent in chapter 12. This chapter builds on the example of the heroes of the faith mentioned in chapter 11. The main point presented is that these figures endured suffering and hardship yet held to their faith in God, which led to eventual victory.

In chapter 12, we further learn that earthly hardship is not a sign of God’s displeasure or abandonment. It’s merely part of living in a fallen, godless world. And, in many cases, it’s a form of “training” the Lord uses to mold us into more powerful vessels of his glory. So that we might truly receive

“...a kingdom that cannot be shaken…”

-Hebrews 12:28

I don't know about you, but I feel shaken. This year has well and truly shaken our faith, hasn’t it?

Or has it?

I wonder if we've looked at this all wrong. Perhaps this year served to shake us away from our comfort zones? Perhaps these trials aren’t meant to push us from God, but away from everything we’ve allowed to put in front of God. Our politics, our careers, our cultural compliance, and yes, even our complacent churches. Maybe, just maybe, God is “separating the wheat from the chaff” (See Matthew 3:12)

Pain and suffering are tools that will either build your life closer to the Lord or cripple your future. Where is your hope? In the Lord or the world? If your hope is in anything but God, you will fail every time.

Hebrews 12 provides the tools to overcome in the face of adversity:

“...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

-Hebrews 12:1-3

Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.

Nosce te Ipsum. “Know thyself” Do you know what hinders you? Are you able and willing to be honest enough to acknowledge the sin that threatens to entangle you? If so, time to throw it off.

Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

“Race” here in ancient Greek is ἀγών (agona), a word used for a grueling conflict or struggle. It promises to be unpleasant, but there is a silver lining. It’s not a command saying “run,” but instead “let us run.” We’re doing this together as one body and one church.

Fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith

In middle school, we had this yearbook that was titled “Looking forward to looking back,” which is cute sentiment until most of us remember, “Oh yeah… middle school was the worst.” I don’t think anyone can look back at those awkward days and declare, “nope, absolutely was a win for me.” I think I ended up burning that yearbook out of spite.

To look forward to looking back means that I can’t wait until I am in the future, so I can look back on my life and be proud. But to look back on our lives with joy, we need to ensure we live joyous lives. Or, more specifically, God-honoring ones. We do this by fixing our eyes on Jesus. We are nailed, riveted, and superglued to the King of Kings.

We orient ourselves within Christ every day so that our lives are a testimony to his glory when we look back. We remain stable in our hope that no matter what comes, God’s got us. We keep our eyes on the Savior ahead of us, so we don’t end up looking back and going, “Wow, I can’t believe how far off course I got!”

We consider him who endured such opposition from sinners so that we don’t grow weary and lose heart.

As the church (us as individuals and not the religious establishment), these are the days where we feel like losing heart. We’re losing strength, and we don’t know if we’ve got many fights left in us. Thank the Lord that our power comes from the God of above and beyond, not our own fragile composure. It’s a new year, and we as the church have a long road ahead of us. God-willing, we’ll be the light in this world. But unless we fixate all of ourselves on the Savior, this will never happen. Unless we fix our sight, we will never be the light.

We will never find ourselves looking forward to looking back.

-RJ