Hebrews 13:7

Summary retelling of Hebrews 13:7

Remember those who have had influence upon you and caused you to pursue a course of action – those who have taught you the Word of God.  Consider what the natural end is to the way they are living their life.  Imitate their faith.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

As a pastor, it probably seems incredibly arrogant to spend a whole day on this single verse.  However, this is an incredibly important verse.  We are to spend time thinking about the people that God has brought into our life to teach us about faith.  God has brought mentors into our life.  God has given people to us to teach us about Him.  God has not abandoned us but surrounded us with people who are there teach us about God!

Who taught you the faith?  Who has helped you pursue a course of action?  As you grow in the faith, how does your ability to think about your spiritual mentors help you prepare for the day when people might be following and thinking about you as their mentor?  How can you make sure you are ready when God brings you to mentor someone yourself?

Second Thought:

Consider the natural end to the way of life for your spiritual mentors.  This saying is a real double edged sword.  At first, the author is trying to get us to remember that the natural end is salvation.  We are to consider that they are faithful because they know that eternal life is the natural end.  However, there is a dark side to this as well.  From a worldly perspective, the natural end is also rejection.  Your spiritual mentors have likely been confronted by mockery and laughing because of their faith.  They have probably faced their share of rejection.  We are to consider that as well.

When you look to your spiritual mentors, how do you see them living in ways that reflect their confidence in eternal life?  In what way do you see them as suffering from rejection as well?

Third Thought:

Imitate.  This is the Christian way.  Christ came to die for our sins and teach us about God’s ways.  Why?  So we could have someone to imitate.  Christ made disciples so that His disciple would learn how to make disciples.  These disciples could make more disciples.  This process continues throughout the ages until it finally reaches you.  The process has been largely one of imitation from the very beginning.

If you think about your spiritual mentors, how do you see them imitating their spiritual mentors?  How does this passage help you understand why spiritual mentors are so important to have?

Passage for Tomorrow: Hebrews 13:8-9