Jun 21, 2015
We were running stride for stride when we hit the sand dune. By
the time we came out of the dune my opponent had dropped back 40
yards and in the half mile to the finish line was unable to
recover. That day, as a high school freshman cross country runner,
I came to value more deeply my coaches and the training they
required of us. In a workout earlier that week our coaches had us
run sprint repeats across that sand dune. It was an incredibly hard
workout; I distinctly remember tasting blood from my throat through
the last several sprints. But the results on race day made the pain
of that workout worthwhile.
We are running the race of faith (Heb. 12:1-2). Our race includes
pain and suffering at many levels and in many ways. That is why we
must run with patient endurance. And the key to patient endurance
is attitude. The point of my running story is that my attitude
changed. My attitude prior was not bad. But on that day my belief
in the value of our workouts and my commitment to endure the pain
of our workouts increased. Rather than thinking, "Oh no, what are
they going to make us do today?" my attitude became "Bring it on,
let's do this!"
In Hebrews 12:3-11 the Preacher speaks to the attitude of the
Hebrew Christians towards their suffering. Whether they become
bitter or better will be determined by their attitude towards the
suffering which God was allowing them to suffer. The key word in
12:3-11 is discipline. It refers not to punishment nor church
discipline but to child rearing. A better word would be training.
The Preacher has in mind the parenting process by which a child is
brought to maturity. As any good father (and mother) trains his
children so also God trains His children.
In 12:3-11 the Preacher shifts from the metaphor of a race to child
rearing. Just as a good Father requires hard things of his son in
order to bring him to maturity, so God uses suffering/persecution
to bring His children to maturity. Though some of us may not have
had a father or a good father, we can relate to the comparison
through a good coach or teacher who required hard things of us in
order to bring us to maturity.