WHAT IF ALL YOU OWN WAS TAKEN FROM YOU?

The writer of the biblical book of Hebrews is unknown.

This letter was probably written between A.D. 64 and 68.

“The recipients of this letter were believers (3:1) who had come to faith through the testimony of eyewitnesses of Christ (2:3). They were not novices (5:12), and they had successfully endured hardships because of their stand for the gospel (10:32-34). Unfortunately, they had become ‘dull of hearing’ (5:11) and were in danger of drifting away (2:1; 3:12). This made them particularly susceptible to the renewed persecutions that were coming upon them (12:4-12), and the author found it necessary to check the downward spiral with ‘the word of exhortation’ (13:22).”

[from The Wilkinson and Boa Bible Handbook, pp.455-6]

“Many Jewish believers, having stepped out of Judaism into Christianity, wanted to reverse their course in order to escape persecution by their countrymen.” [Ibid. p.453]

With this background addressed, we can see that this letter was written at a crucial time to encourage new Christians who had been dispersed from Jerusalem to various parts of the surrounding environment. The persecution was growing intense and they were suffering!

The unknown author of this letter is deeply concerned and dedicated to encourage these New Testament Christians. The author seems well-acquainted with the degree and nature of their suffering and wants to encourage them not to give up, but to persevere in their faith in Jesus!

The author writes:

Remember those days in the past when you first learned the truth. You had a hard struggle with many sufferings, but you continued strong. Sometimes you were hurt and attacked before crowds of people, and sometimes you shared with those who were being treated that way. You helped the prisoners. You even had joy when all that you owned was taken from you, because you knew you had something better and more lasting.   [Hebrews 10:32-34 NCV]

That last line [printed in bold letters] stopped me!

I found myself wondering:

If all I owned was taken from me because I was a Christian,

would I have joy because I knew I had something better and more lasting?

It didn’t take me long to produce an answer.

No. I would be overwhelmed with feelings of injustice, shock, despair and sorrow. I would be looking for some recourse that might restore what was rightfully mine! I would be angry! I would probably be feeling sorry for myself. I can’t imagine myself being joyful in the face of losing everything that I owned!

I would need an intervention! I would need someone – like the author of Hebrews – to give me a strong, direct, corrective word!

I would need to be told:

• God sees you, Hal, and is on your side!
• The Lord will provide!
• He will make a way where there seems to be no way!
• The Lord is your shepherd – you shall not want…
• Put your trust in Him and He will deliver you.
• God is good – all the time!

I would need to be reminded that my true reward will come in Heaven! I would desperately need to recall the truth I’ve known and taught: that something better and more lasting waits for me in Heaven!

I would very much need to hear the author of Hebrews’ very next words:

So do not lose the courage you had in the past, which has a great reward. You must hold on, so you can do what God wants and receive what he has promised. For in a very short time,

“The One who is coming will come

and will not be delayed.

Those who are right with me

will live by faith.

But if they turn back with fear,

I will not be pleased with them.” Habakkuk 2:3–4

But we are not those who turn back and are lost. We are people who have faith and are saved.

[Hebrews 10:35-39 NCV]

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TWO THOUGHTS BEFORE WE CLOSE

1.    It could happen!

I’m writing this on the morning after a 23-year-old gunman shot through the windows of a Catholic Church in Minneapolis killing two young children and wounding seventeen others!

Our culture is disintegrating!

The decades-long-assault on the family has produced a generation of youth who are angry. They were not prized and loved. They were not taught and nurtured. Love, honor and hope were not modeled for them. Guardrails were not in place! In many instances, they raised themselves and each other. And we reap what we’ve sown!

As a parallel, the influence of the Church has been waning for decades! The fact that this shooting took place while the victims were attending a mass, screams disdain and disregard for Christianity!

One could easily postulate that the magnitude of these problems will not be solved by an election or a political party.

If this sentiment continues to grow unrestrained and unchanged, we could eventually see the day when we would suffer the same losses as the people that the author of Hebrews was writing to in the first century – just 2,000 years later!

 2.    The hardest thing for us to do!

We live in the here-and-now, but someday we hope to live in the there-and-then!

The here-and-now is real to us! The there-and-then seems ethereal and imaginative. We struggle to think of a place that could go on for all eternity!  It’s one thing to say that we believe our loved ones have gone to Heaven, but where is it? What is it really like? What is life there like? Will we be bored? Will it be like being in church forever? Will I worship non-stop? Will it be a fun place? Will there be humor? Will I be able to travel the universe? Will we eat there? Will my former pets be there? Will I have a body?

So many questions and so few answers.

And yet most of us believe in Heaven – at least to some extent. We may not know specifics, but we do believe there will be ‘something more’.

Perhaps we should invest a bit more in a study of Heaven and its assurances? If it’s all true, then I’ll be there FAR LONGER THAN I’LL BE HERE!

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LORD GOD: Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

I want to be faithful to You!

I believe Your Word!

I have accepted You as my Lord!

I’m trying to live my life to honor You!

There is a war going on!

Evil is real and rampant!

It impacts me daily.

I must continually choose You and Your way.

It’s not always easy.

Temptation is real!

I’m not always strong.

I falter and fail.

But You are faithful to forgive!

You always hear my prayers of confession.

Your restore me again and again.

You have many ways of protecting me.

I want to be so committed to You that if I lost everything I own,

I would still choose to be faithful to You and to trust in You!

I want to think of myself in the words of the ‘rock pioneer’, Larry Norman, who sang:

“I’m only visiting this planet!”

I am already a citizen of Heaven!

I read in Philippians 3:20-21

“…our homeland is in heaven, and we are waiting for our Savior, 

the Lord Jesus Christ, to come from heaven. 

By his power to rule all things,

he will change our humble bodies and make them like his own glorious body."

Help me to be more heavenly-minded, Lord!

Help me to look forward to it with anticipation and not to lament those who have left this life after living faithfully for You. Rather, help me to humbly rejoice that they are enjoying You, people, and experiences that I can only long for and try to imagine!

And may I continually remember that none of the things that are so precious to me here will make it through to Heaven! So, I probably ought to worry far less about my possessions. Right?

Amen!