11 No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.
12 So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. 13 Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.
14 Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. 15 Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. 16 Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal. 17 You know that afterward, when he wanted his father’s blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears.
18 You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai. 19 For they heard an awesome trumpet blast and a voice so terrible that they begged God to stop speaking. 20 They staggered back under God’s command: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.”
Tori's Comments -
Sorry, but I'm getting a certatin vibe from all of this:
via GIPHY
I never associated the word work with Christianity.
I like to think of words like freedom and love instead.
But turns out, loving people is work.
We have to work at being in peace with everyone. Doing the right thing can be hard. And I rarely want to choose someone else over myself.
But that's just what Christ did, and now us.
Terrie's Comments -
We are to do this with purpose! Marking out our path to be sure it remains straight. We are to regain our focus, re-grip the rope, gather our strength again and keep on moving. We are to run this race together and look after each other so that we are not alone. If we stick close enough together and protect each other the weeds will get choked out.
Our lives should be set apart... Holy... different than the world. We are ambassadors for Jesus and our lives should represent the Heavenly kingdom we belong to. Our goal is to make heaven attractive to many so that they will want to come with us.
I think it is intriging to think that the writer refers to bitterness as a poisonous root that will grow up to trouble us and cause trouble for many. As Christians we are suppose to forgive unconditionally... we don't have the option to hold onto bitterness.
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
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Please keep all comments respectful. We want to remember that each of us is at a different place in our walk with God. This is a place for us to share openly about what has been revealed to us as we open up Gods word and to learn from others. Please take every opportunity possible to build each other up in love :-)