Day 836: Aim not to fail - Hebrews 12 vs 11 – 17

11 For the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 11-12 Therefore, lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. 14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; 16-17 that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears. Hebrews 12:12-17 From the English Standard Version

In the verses just before today's reading the writer had explained that the difficult times these Christians were going through should be seen as part of God's discipline. The words ‘disciple’ and ‘discipline’, after all, are very similar. So what does he encourage them to do in vs 11-12?

He urges them to take heart rather than to lose heart in what they were going through. They should be encouraged by knowing that God was treating them as His sons and daughters, and that He loved them enough to discipline them so that they wouldn't end up like Esau, who the writer mentions in vs 16-17. What was the great tragedy in Esau's life according to those verses?

The first part of the tragedy was that Esau thought little of God's promises and God's plans, so he cared nothing about the family blessing for the first born. He traded his blessing as first born with his brother Jacob for a good meal. The bigger tragedy for him was that it was a deal that could not be undone. No amount of self pity and tears could reverse the choice he had made. Can you see how that fits in well with the plea the writer makes to the Christians in vs 15?

He does not want any of them to fall short of inheriting the tremendous blessing God has in store for His sons and daughters. He didn't want any of them to glibly say “once saved, always saved”, and then live lifestyles that were inconsistent with the holiness God was calling them to.

But apart from actually renouncing Jesus, what was another danger he warns them against in that verse?

He warns against being 'a root of bitterness' that would make others stumble. The story of Israel's great exodus from Egypt under Moses has many instances of people who grumbled against God because of difficulties they encountered. Their grumbling often led to God having to punish them severely for the damage they were doing. As Christians we must take care that any hardships we suffer don't lead us to expressing hard thoughts about God to others. Rather, being patient in our trials can be a means of great encouragement to others.

What is another way in vs 16 that Christians can stray from God's discipline?

He urges them not to be sexually immoral. That also happened to Israel during the exodus and led to many of them not reaching the land God had promised. So the writer here was not only urging Christians to not turn away from following Jesus, he was also urging them to not turn aside to doing things God's children should not do.

Verse 14 describes what ought to be a believers aim in life, even in the midst of hatred and opposition they meet up with. He says: “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” Perhaps he had in mind the words of Jesus when He said: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:8-10) That's the road we are called to walk so that we don't fail to obtain the grace of God.