Wednesday, May 11: Hebrews 12- Make every effort.

As usual there is more in this chapter than I can handle in one devotion time. The words about discipline and the call to persevere is strong and worthy of much contemplation. Yet, it was a single verse mid-chapter that stuck like a dart in my soul as I read and pondered God’s word.

Verse14: Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.

The two-part charge seems simple enough but the longer I thought the more stinging they became. Make every effort to live in peace with all men… easier said than done. Some people know my buttons, others push buttons they don’t know I have. Either way, feathers get ruffled and worse. Yet God says to me… “Bill, make every effort to live in peace with them.” (I am reminded of Romans 12:18 with its similar message; you can check that verse out if you like…). Like I said, easier said than done, yet that is no excuse not to work at it, which is exactly God’s charge. I am to make every effort to live at peace with all others. Every effort…

Then there is the second charge: Make every effort to … be holy. Not much leeway there… that is a challenge I will work on for my entire life. The question that comes to my heart is this, “Am I actually working on being holy?” Forgive me, Lord, I fall short regularly and not simply in outcome but in effort as well.

With this charge, God’s Word adds a reason: Make every effort to … be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. Does that say what I think it says… that it is through my holiness that people see the Lord? That humbles me because I don’t think I am very holy and therefore, I am not shining a very good light for Jesus. OUCH, this is a tough one!

Father, it is all too painful for me to realize how short I fall of Your best and how lax I am in living faithfully for You. Help me grow.   Discipline me as You see fit so that my life might make a difference for You in the world. Teach me holiness, so that others will see You in my life and thus You will receive honor and glory… In Jesus’ name I plead. Amen.