Struggle

DEVOTION

HEBREWS

STRUGGLE

Heb 12:4-6

4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."  

NIV

Surely Jesus was resisting the temptation of not going to the cross when he was in the garden, for he sweat great drops of blood. But does this mean we should also resist sin with that kind of determination? Or within the context does this mean that we have not yet been called to give our life for our testimony of the truth? If we are sons of God than perhaps we should start acting as sons. That is to say we need to stand up for what is true, we should resist evil at every turn, both the evil that is within us and that which is opposed to us. Surely this struggle against sin could imply the sin that resides within each of us, but it also could imply the sin that is in the world which opposes the truth of God. Both these sins were the cause for the shedding of blood by Jesus on the cross. He was killed for His testimony of the truth, but He gave His live for the sin that is within us. Here we need to resist sin, our and theirs with every ounce of effort we can. We must put to death the sin that reside within with as much determination as Jesus had in the garden. All too often we give in to the sin within without even a struggle. We lose our temper, we speak ill-conceived words out of selfish concerns, we see ourselves as better than we ought to, thinking we live a good Christian life, when in fact we are sinners save by grace. We give in to silence, not wanting to stand our ground against the wayward acts of disobedience we see around us. Are we making light the Lord’s discipline here? Are this words about struggling against sin a rebuke? Is God training, educating us through a form of heavy handed punishment? The fact is we need to give up this acceptance of sin, making excuses for our own sinful ways, as well as stand up, speak up against the sin which so easily entangles us. The sin of the world, yes we need to tell people they are sinners, and God opposes they prideful arrogant disobedience. Jesus died speaking the truth, are we afraid to do the same? Let us speak the truth to both ourselves and to others, let us struggle.