We Are Not Of Those Who Shrink Back…

“But we are not those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved”

– Hebrews 10:39

In Jerusalem the crowds had gathered from all around the Roman Empire to celebrate passover, some had traveled for days or weeks before reaching the city walls. Some had come for religious reasons, some simply out of tradition and others just to see and partake in the excitement of being in such a place with so many other people or because they were told “Jews like to party”.

On Easter sunday the crowds will gather again much like they did two thousand years ago. There will be those who have traveled across the states, those who took extra vacation time just so they can be with family. They will file into church wearing the best of whatever they own, some come for what they consider religious reasons, others will come for the sake of an age old family tradition and still others come confused with how chocolate, baskets and bunnies have to do with the once a year church visit that is awkward, boring and often feels meaningless.

Back two thousand years ago, to those outside of the Jewish faith the passover was just a time when everyone ate nasty yeast-less bread and rehashed the story of how Moses led them out of Egypt. It carried little meaning to those who did not understand the significance of how God had led his people out of slavery and toward the promise land. I imagine the routine of the passover became mundane and faded to just something families did every year. It lost it’s meaning even though the story was told. Even in my own life I have been guilty of showing up on Easter morning bored and uninterested. There are times I’ve felt offended by the fact that people are more fake about their faith on Easter and Christmas than any other time of the year. It’s as if they do not choose to believe any other time.

Following Jesus is not a once a year thing.

In the crowds of people that had gathered in Jerusalem for the passover there were those who had come because they believed this was the time that Jesus was going to rise up as their fearless leader and over throw the Romans. There were those who had followed him simply because he healed them or satisfied their hunger. There were those who followed just for the excitement of the crowds that seemed to be amazed by him. But there were a few who really believed that Jesus was the Messiah, the savior of his people. Not a savior over Roman oppression but a savior over sin, guilt, shame and separation from God.

For those few who really truly believed they were going to quickly learn that following Jesus was not going to be a once a year thing, it was not going to be an easy thing and it was not always going to be that exciting either. When Jesus was arrested the people that were following Jesus seemed to shrink. There were those who had shouted “Hosanna in the highest” when he had entered the city but found themselves screaming “Crucify Him” by the end of the week. There were those who wanted to follow Jesus when it seemed safe, comfortable and the popular thing to do, but when things changed they were quick to shrink back and run away.

People are no different today as they were two thousand years ago. There are still those who only follow Jesus because he healed them or satisfied their hunger, there are those who think the crowds that gather on Christmas and Easter are exciting, and those who come once a year because they respect anyone who does something to cause a holiday.

But who are we.

Who are we in this story. I love how the writer of Hebrews speaks of the supremacy of Christ and assures his reader that Jesus is the son of God. He reminds them of why Jesus came to live and died and rose again. Then he goes on to speak of those few that continued to believe in Jesus after many had given up…

“Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised… But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.”

• Hebrews 10:32-36,39

After Jesus death and resurrection it was still not easy to follow Jesus. There was no once a year follower of Jesus. It was either all in or all out. The risk was high and the cost was at times your own life, yet there were those who did not shrink back. When Jesus was crucified there were many who just gave up, they shrunk back, he did not do what they thought he was going to do so they gave up on him. I believe there are those who think they are following Jesus, but know nothing about him and there are those who as they get to know him and everything he did they choose to leave him, but we do not have to be those people.

We have a choice to follow Jesus everyday, learn more about him not for the sake of knowing facts, but for a relationship with him.

The early followers of Jesus did not always know what they were going to be getting into or what God was calling them to do, however, they made a choice to follow any way. Following Jesus is a learning process. It takes time, we have no need to shrink back or throw away our confidence. For those who believe we have ten thousand reasons to tell the world about Jesus. There will always be those who only come to church on Easter or Christmas, but there is no reason that that should be the only time all year that they hear or see Jesus.

 

We are not of those who shrink back from carrying the good news to the world. The good news of love and hope. The world two thousand years ago was in desperate need of hope and an example of love. Jesus calls us to carry that same message to our world that is longing for some hope and is often confused about love. We need to remind those who believe that we are not of those who shrink back.

 

-Caleb Ross Hunter

Day 48 “A Year of Thoughts”: Lighten up…

Played about ten games of pick up basketball and won two of those ten. But the second win was sweet, I hit a couple shots and then the game winning 3 pointer. It was a fun time, I needed that time to relax a little and lighten up from all the things I have going. I like it when I can step back out on the court and find confidence in playing again.

 

-Caleb Ross Hunter

Day 15 “A Year of Thoughts”: A Detour is Part of the Adventure

A Detour.

 

For someone to come to or have a detour, it is a mistake or failure or hindrance that must be gone around. But those of you who choose to see the journey as an adventure may find the detour to be an awesome experience, full of the exciting unexpected. Sometimes those detours are forced upon us and other times the detours come from when we miss an exit.

 

Trying to find our way back to the right road can be full of uncertainty, rather frightening, and altogether challenging, but when we see the adventure in the detour, the challenge becomes a learning experience, the scariness becomes a memory, and the uncertainty is changed to confidence as you find your way back.

 

 

So in the past week of driving to New Mexico from Kansas and driving back again, we took two detours. Both of which were from missing an exit. After obtaining three maps, “enjoying” the smell of Dodge (sarcastically speaking, Dodge smells like road kill heaven), fighting everything in me that is a man and asking for directions, our second detour found us in Amarillo, Texas. I thought there would be a sign on the highway that should have pointed us to the road we needed- there quite possibly could have been- but somehow we missed it… and I got to experience a little more of Texas.

 

In detours we learn a lot about each other.

 

 

The challenge of the detours made for a great experience with my best friend. My worries were met with, “Chill, we’ll get there.” My uncertainty was a reminder that life is an experience. We’re human. We make mistakes. But failures and detours are not the end but rather a part of our journey. My life has been full of detours, failures and mistakes but they’re part of who I am. Part of a story I’ll tell my children someday. Some of my detours have allowed me to learn things I’d never thought I’d learn. Some of my detours have allowed me to share life and laughter and create memories with incredible people. Detours created time and space to talk, think and explore.

 

Sometimes when we come to detours, if we’re not thinking of it as an adventure, we find it annoying and time consuming. So… What would it take for us to change our thoughts?

 

To experience the detour?

 

To take life as an adventure?

 

Would we learn more?

 

Would we be challenged to find new ways to do things?

 

Would we be able to face our fears of the unexpected?

 

To be able to take our uncertainties and turn them into confidence?

 

To find hope in making our way back, taking the risk it needs to get there?

 

So next time you come to a detour or think over the detours of your life, choose to see it as a blessing, a part of your journey, and a chance to find adventure.

 

-Caleb Ross Hunter

 

 

P.S. I dictated this to my best friend Megan Eby while we were driving back to Kansas from New Mexico