This morning I was struck by verse 11 of Hebrews 6: “We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized.” (NIV) What were they hoping for? These words were written in the context of Christians being faithful in helping other Christians. Perhaps there was hope that things would get better in this life for those whom they were helping. However, in the context of persecution for their faith, perhaps their hope was for things beyond this life. There is continuity between the good work we do on this earth and the results in heaven. Our work is not in vain. Reading on through Hebrews 6 we read the very familiar verse about hope being the anchor of our souls. It is hope that keeps us positively moving forward, not giving up or giving in to skepticism about the God’s will when we are in the midst of a fire-fight, with all of Satan’s arrows aimed at us. These darts are being deflected by hope, not mentioned in Ephesians as a part of the armor of God which we hear to deflect all of Satan’s schemes, but certainly hope is what keeps us standing when it looks like we are about to fall. But we don’t; we carry on in helping and praying for others with diligence until we see what we hoped for fully realized. I wonder how often we have quit just before we realize what we had hoped for. Patience, my friend, paitience. Be patient in hope.
