O LAME WHO WALK, HEAR YE!

Hebrews 12:1-14

A friend of mine, upon recovering from dengue fever, said this with reference to his weakened muscles: “The lame has been healed, but is still lame. What a waste of healing.” What he meant was that, although he had been healed of dengue, he was still capable of telling lame jokes.

In verse 13, the writer of Hebrews exhorts us to choose the right paths, “so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed,” so that we may progress and not stagnate in our walk with God. Yet I realise that although I’ve been ‘healed’ (redeemed from sin), I still lead a ‘lame’ life. One might say that it was a waste of God’s healing, for I am much better at talking about obedience and holiness than actually putting it into practice.

Today’s passage reminds us that our focus must be on Jesus (vv. 2-3). “Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men,” the writer of Hebrews says. Jesus calls all His disciples ‘fishers of men’ (Luke 5:1-11), and although we often fail in this, yet He shows up for breakfast and delivers more we’d ever dare imagine (John 21:1-12).

Aware of our mortality, of the mere ashes of which we are made, He nonetheless breathes His life into us and gives us our very being. He is the one who called the lame to walk, and He still does. Let us learn to throw off the sin that entangles and follow Him, that His grace to us may not be in vain (1 Corinthians 15:10). Praise Him.

Reflection:

Today, the first day of Lent, is traditionally called Ash Wednesday. Search for T.S. Eliot’s poem ‘Ash Wednesday’, (one source is the website http://plagiarist.com/poetry/372). Read and discuss it with a friend or in a group.

Action:

Even as you proceed into the next forty days, come back again to today’s Scripture reading (Hebrews 12:1-14) from time to time. Keep it as a reminder of where we ought to be heading, what we ought to be doing; above all, Who we ought to be following.