Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are convinced of better things in your case—the things that have to do with salvation. God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.
Hebrews 6:9,10
I was sitting in a meeting when, all of a sudden, the building started to shake. The curtains swayed back and forth. I could see ripples in the glass of water in front of me. My hands could feel it in the table I was sitting at. My feet could feel the vibrations from the floor.
Yes, I was in California. And yes, it was an earthquake. Not a big one, but big enough for me. Coming from Baltimore, I’d never experienced anything like this before. Once everything stopped shaking, I started to breathe again. Without thinking about it, I was holding my breath.
As I looked around the room, the people who lived in California saw the blood drain from my face. They just looked at each other and started laughing. They slapped each other on the back as this easterner was in full panic mode over a small microearthquake. They started guesstimating whether it was 1.9 or 2.1 on the Richter scale[1].
Because people had lived there for some time, and because they had experienced these earthquakes over and over again, they knew exactly what was going on. They didn’t need to Google it or check with local news stations. They didn’t need to launch an app on their phone to check out the exact magnitude. They had lived through it so many times that they knew exactly what was going on.
This is exactly where the writer of this letter is. He’s lived with these Hebrews and knows what they know. What they believe. They’ve seen it in action through their lives. He’s seen the fruit of Jesus coming from inside of them. This is why he’s convinced.
Remember, to be convinced, there had to be a time when he wasn’t. Somewhere in the past, there was doubt in his mind. There were feelings of insecurity. But all that has changed. Doubt has been replaced with the certainty of being proven wrong so he could move to being persuaded.
The writer was convinced sometime in the past and is still convinced. This opinion is settled like the foundation of a building. You pour the concrete and let it sit there. This lets the concrete cure and get hard. It also gives it time to settle so it doesn’t move once construction starts. Their opinion of the Hebrews hasn’t moved. It hasn’t been shaken. It’s still solid.
And how do you become convinced? Not because of feelings, but because of proof. There were things that demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that changed his mind.
This over-the-top convincing and persuading came through the things that come with salvation. These changes in a life are side-by-side with salvation. Salvation doesn’t come through what people do[2], but salvation changes the way people think, act, and feel[3]. God’s forgiveness in Jesus is the “root” while the things we do in response is the “fruit.” It started when they gave their lives to Jesus, and it’s still
You see, God is not the kind of God that forgets the things we do that come through him. No way. He remembers everything they’ve done to please him. To honor him. To show our love for him. And the writer lists four things that came from God’s saving work.
Work. In response to all that God has already done for them, they get off their butts and work for God. They work hard to be his hands and feet here on Earth. They help the poor and lonely. They reach out to people in Jesus’ name.
Love. They also show God’s loving desire for people to see his deepest desire that others experience nothing but the best. They people know and receive God’s best and deepest blessings.
Helped. The Hebrews have a rich history of helping people in the past. There’s lots and lots of examples of how they’ve worked and loved because of all Jesus’ has done for them on the cross/
Helping. But they didn’t stop there. They’re not satisfied to just have albums filled with pictures and memories of how they helped in the past. Oh no. They’re still actively helping people right now.
We all need this kind of encouragement every so often. Someone needs to speak up and retell the stories about how God moved and worked in and through us. How God saved a wretch like you and me. Paying for all our sins and remaking us into his children.
Every once in a while, the enemy will whisper the lie into our head and hearts that God’s walking away from us. That the blood of Jesus can’t forgive what we just did. What we just thought. What we just said. That is a lie from the pit of hell itself. God has given us his promise never to leave us or forsake us. And the promise of our unshakable God can leave us unshaken in our lives. The time to start trusting him is now.
Noodling Questions
List three normal things for you that would drive others out of their minds.
How has God gone “over the top” to explain his love for you?
Who has encouraged you in the things of God recently. Explain what they did.
[2] Ephesians 2:8,9
[3] Ephesians 2:10
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