MAGNOLIA MINDS: Faithfulness — a call to do hard things

By Clayton Todd

On Monday afternoons, I often check in with our members who were out of worship on Sunday. As I spoke with an older woman in our congregation, we found ourselves talking about the generational differences between us.

One difference we noted was work ethic. Where past generations prided themselves on a “can-do” mentality and weren’t afraid of a little dirt under their fingernails, the most recent generation often looks for a better, faster and — most importantly — easier way forward. The more we talked, the more we simplified the difference: the older generation believes “hard things are worth doing,” while the younger often reasons, “if it’s hard, there must be a better way to do it.”

Generational differences aside, we see similar trends in the church, don’t we? Hard things are often avoided. Yet the call of Christian faithfulness is a call to do hard things. The writer of Hebrews describes the way of the Christian as marked by confidence and assurance — a new and living way (10:19–21).

That may not be the confession of many, and yet these characteristics are not contingent on the believer’s actions but on Christ’s accomplishments. He is the spotless Lamb, the Temple and the High Priest. In verses 23–25, the writer explains how this new life is experienced — and it comes through what many believers might characterize as “hard things.”

Holding fast fights biblical illiteracy

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”
– Hebrews 10:23

When encouraging our members to look for opportunities to share the Gospel, I often remind them, “You cannot share what you do not know.” So it is here: we will not confess nor hold fast to what we do not know.

Biblical illiteracy plagues the church today. J. T. English points out that much of the church knows stories in the Bible but not the story of the Bible. For many, online sermons, podcasts, Christian radio, blogs and devotions supplant time in the Bible. We know more about what our favorite preacher would say about a passage than what the text itself says. Why? Because getting into the Word of God on a consistent basis is hard.

But the hard work of putting one’s eyes on the Scriptures and seeking to understand what God has said leads to holding it fast and confessing Gospel hope. Reading God’s Word for ourselves whets our appetites for the things of God. This cannot happen if Christians forsake hard things.

Exist together in an individualistic age

“And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some …”
– Hebrews 10:24-25a

How easy is it to miss Lord’s Day worship? A busy Saturday, a restless night, rain, company in town — the list goes on. The Western world is strangely sick with itself. Individualism is celebrated far and wide, so it’s no surprise that many view gathering quite honestly as being primarily for them.

The writer presses in: we do the hard work of existing together in the local body of Christ for the sake of others. One of the primary ways followers of Jesus experience the confidence and assurance of Christ is through life alongside other brothers and sisters. Might we consider not only our own faith but also the faith of those seated around us in the assembly, which is enlivened by our doing the hard work of gathering for the proclamation of the Word, prayer, singing, the ordinances, and the public reading of Scripture?

Refuse to be instantly satisfied

“But encourage one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”
– Hebrews 10:25b

The writer sets the audience’s eyes on the horizon. What they ultimately seek for satisfaction has yet to come. We live in an age of faster, better and easier, which often cons believers into pseudo-pleasures that are fleeting. The cruel myth of the age is that we’re creating our own sanctuary, while the Scriptures herald: be dissatisfied with the world and treasure Christ.

Sadly, we may hear skeptical questions about heaven such as, “What are we going to do for eternity?” The proper response is not what we will do but whom we will be with. Earlier in the text, the writer explains that the hope of this glory is in Christ. Thus, the diagnosis may be that we love the world too much and Christ too little. In an age that demands our attention, the saints are called to do the hard work of recalibrating our eyes heavenward and not settling for the things of earth.

The Christian way is truly one of confidence and assurance in Christ — experiencing new life with God and His people while awaiting His return. But it is not without difficulty. Therefore, we do not cast off hard things in search of an easier route. By His grace, we seek to do the hard things He has called us to, that we may enjoy Him and His Church until His return.

Todd is pastor of First Church, Belmont.