Encouraging the suffering

The idea for this post is the result of the numerous cards, emails and letters I have received since my cancer diagnosis and since beginning this blog from current friends and friends who live at a distance and family members.  Your concern for us, your prayers for us and you many kind words reflecting on how God has ministered to you through us and in some cases through this blog.  I have been moved to tears on many occasions, even though it hurts :-) sometimes.  (My only regret is that I do not have the time and the energy to respond to each one.)  Chiefly your concern and kind words encourage me to keep trusting in Jesus and to be faithful to him in the midst of the suffering; to endure with him and for his sake.

In reflecting on how your encouragement strengthens my faith I was reminded of the two great statements on encouragement in the letter to the Hebrews.  I hope you know these two passages and have put yourself in a believing community where you are giving and receiving what is being commanded in them.  Here they are:

Hebrews 3:12-14:

"See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.  But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called "Today," so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.  We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end."

Hebrews 10:24-25

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

It is important to remember that these commands to "encourage one another" are writtent to a church which is going through significant suffering caused by persecution.  Thus the need to be encouraged and to encourage others is greater among those who are in the midst of trial and trouble.

The first passage commands that we encourage one another because we are all in a war.  We are fighting to believe for a lifetime that we are the children of God and forgiven of our many sins and going to heaven only because of what Christ has done.  And we are fighting to believe for a whole lifetime that being God's children by the work of Christ is better than health and wealth and vacations and the respect of others and alchohol and drugs and TV and not being bothered by anyone else and pornography and shopping and hunting and video games and Facebook and obedient children and good parents and a loving spouse and ....name your favorite creation pleasure.  Every professing Christian is always in danger of developing a hard heart that stops trusing Christ and starts believing that something is better than him and his salvation.  God's antidote to a hard heart is to have Christian friends, to be in a Christian church where you are encourageing others to hold fast to Christ and you are being encouraged to hold fast to Christ. 

The second passage commands us to encourage each other so that we love God and others and do things to show our love for both.  Left to our own devices we are naturally inclined to pay attention to our own and the needs of those we depend upon for love and we naturally ignore the needs of others.  Thus, I need other believers in my life who know me and are able to speak the truth of God's word into my life so that I am encouraged or spurred on to love God and others and show my love by deeds of love.  Again, as in the first passage, notice that we need to be giving and receiving this encouragement daily, regularly.  We are to intentionally seek to give it to others and receive it from others as well.

I have in the last 2 months been the recipient of much encouragement which has helped me to appreciated the glory of Christ as my friend and savior in deeper ways and has motivated me to want to keep encouraging others as much as I am able during this time.  The other thought I have had is how I have experienced this kind of encouragement throughout my Christian life.  I have spoken with individuals, both Christians and non-Christians on average 6 times every week for the last 35 years.  I have also been in small group bible studies or meetings with Christians at least 3 times a week during that entire time.  While I have been the initaiator or leader of the group in most of these meetings, yet I have always received from those I have met far more than I have given.  I cannot help but thank God for how he has preserved my faith through the encouragement of so many people through all these years and especially so now.  I pray, right now, that each of you who reads this blog is connected to some believers, some church where you can receive all that I have received through the years.