Service Please!

At the front desk sits a “ring for service” bell. When any customer walks in and no worker is present to help, ringing that bell is intended to bring attention to what is more important than whatever else is going on: serving the customer. That service bell is a wake-up call, a reality check, a gentle reminder that says, “You’re missing something.” In Hebrews 12:3-4, the writer rang a metaphorical service bell, saying, “For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin…” Christians who live in relative ease must remember that even in times of great difficulty, their life must overflow with faithfulness to the Lord.

In Hebrews 12:4, the writer contrasts the sufferings of these Christians with those of others who have suffered and will suffer for their faith. Christians like Stephen in Acts 6-7 come to mind immediately, who was stoned to death for his faith in Jesus and his unwillingness to leave the truth unspoken to those who needed to hear it most. He died for his faith. He resisted the enemies of God unto the shedding of his own blood. The Christians addressed in Hebrews had not yet been dying for their faith in Christ.

Every Christian who has pulled back from life-changing faithfulness to the Lord’s will should ask themselves, “Why?” Furthermore, “What am I hoping to gain from stepping away?” Rather than stepping away from spiritually challenging opportunities, heed the command found in 1 Corinthians 15:58, “…be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”