Does life ever feel like … a lot? Some days it feels like breaking news never stops, the to-do list piles up, and there is more than enough misery to share.
As a minister at Hope, I hear (and feel!) this all the time. There is something wrong with this world, and the bad news seems like it is more than we can bear.
The community Paul was writing to in his letter to the Hebrews was in a similar state. They had suffered persecution, hardship, discouragement, and the ground shifting beneath their feet. In many ways, what we are going through now is nothing new to the church. In fact, Hebrews 10 shows us how to be good news people in a bad news world.
Paul starts with the Gospel: “By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place … For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:20-22). If you are like me, you might need to read that a couple more times until it sinks in. Jesus gives us a new, better life!
He then encourages the community to do three things:
- Hold tightly to the hope we have in God (v. 23).
- Live out the faith through acts of love and good works (v. 24).
- Continue to meet and encourage one another (v. 25).
When bad news strikes, the simple (yet powerful!) practices of hope, love, and community transform our lives and hearts into the good news people the world desperately needs.
Reflection:
- What does it mean for you to be a good news person in a bad news world?
- What are some tangible practices you can put into place to live out Paul’s encouragement of hope, love, and community?