There is hope despite the pandemic!

My blog for July 9, 2021, was titled, A Christian Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. As the pandemic has continued, I have been deeply concerned about how I should be praying. It is easier to know that our society has spiritual needs than to know how to make a positive impact. Do we who have the truth, live the truth? This time is a wake-up call for Christians. The longer this pandemic continues, the more we should strive to represent Christ to a hurting world.

As I continued my study of Hebrews this week, I was greatly encouraged by Hebrews 10:23-25, Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. I believe these verses give application to the previous blog.

Christians alone have secure hope in the midst of the pandemic. Consider the words of R. Kent Hughes, So many people live on so little, surviving in this world, just putting one foot in front of the other as they depend on unsubstantiated, ungrounded "hope." . . . But the Christian's hope has substance! The hope that our text commends here in verse 23 is a conscious reference back to the writer's statement in 6:19, 20—"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf." Our hope is only as secure as the faithfulness of God who sent His Son to make payment for our sins, the Son who died, rose again and sits at the right hand of the Majesty on high, interceding for us. Yes, we have secure hope.

We not only have hope but we are given instructions for times like these. First, the writer of Hebrews exhorts us to encourage one another in the Body of Christ to love and good works. He emphasizes the importance of meeting together. I believe it is appropriate to reach out in love and good works to those outside His body, as well. In this pandemic, it is easy to say it is safer to stay home. That’s probably the thought of the Hebrews who were trying to avoid persecution. Donald Hagner reminds us of the importance of being together, The way in which the readers can manifest their concern for one another is through active participation in fellowship, on the one hand, and through mutual encouragement, on the other. Christians need each other, and especially in trying circumstances. God has not made us independent but interdependent. We need each other even more than ever in the midst of this pandemic.

Also, the writer of Hebrews gives instruction to anticipate the Lord’s return. Read Ray Stedman’s quote which pictures our present condition, The empire seethed with unrest and premonitions of disaster. These frightening omens were not viewed as signs of God’s inability to control his world, as many interpret similar events today. Rather, they were indications that God was working out his predicted purposes just as Jesus, the prophets and the apostles had foretold . . . It is now apparent as we look back over the centuries that it has been the will of God to have each generation feel that it is living in the very last days of civilization. Each century has found the church fearing the cataclysms of its own time as the last to come. Yet, inexorably, each passing century has moved the world nearer the final end. This sense of imminence is God’s device to keep believers expectant and full of hope in the midst of the world’s darkness.

I fear too many Christians have accepted the position of unbelievers, hope based on circumstances not on the promises of God. May we hold fast our confession and proclaim our hope to a world in desperate need. Join the study of Hebrews under the Books of the Bible tab, and keep looking up!