becoming champions of faith: compelling love

The Olympics will soon come to a close. It has been wonderful to watch world-class athletes push human achievement to the next level.  It is inspiring to watch and it gives us a sense of hope that one day we can experience the unity that is the foundation of these games.  At times it seems to be a distant possibility to live in friendly competition, rather than a perpetual struggle for dominance.  One of the abiding and beautiful qualities that is foundational to every competitor is discipline.  Many things will drive this sense of discipline, but one of the most compelling is love.  Love for their country is certainly one of the motivations for these people to train and compete. We continue our series Becoming Champions of Faith with the sermon Compelling Love.  We continue in Hebrews 12:5-13.  These people were in the race of their lives and they were struggling to see the purpose of their hardship and suffering.  They were wondering how God was at work and they had taken their suffering as a sign of God’s rejection.  This writer, through the power of the Holy Spirit, tells them that it is not rejection, it is refinement.  God was using these events to reassure them of his deep and abiding love.  We are just like these early believers.  We are often distracted by the simplest turn of events or when things do not go as planned.  These words can help us in the difficulty of our lives to gain clarity, strength, and joy.  Weakness can be transformed into greater strength than we can imagine because we have a heavenly Father who loves us as his very own and will never forsake us.  We pray that you sense this refining, joyous strength as you read Hebrews 12:5-13.

Hebrews 12:5-13: And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “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 the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” ⁷ Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? ⁸ If you are not disciplined– and everyone undergoes discipline– then you are not legitimate, not true sons and  daughters at all. ⁹ Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! ¹⁰ They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. ¹¹ No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. ¹² Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. ¹³ “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.  (NIV)