Allelon - Part 2

Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess.” In other words, if we say that God is love, and we believe that we are to love, then let’s hold on to that hope that the world can become a better place. Let’s not get sidetracked and derailed by our selfishness and self-absorption. The next verse explains how this is accomplished: “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”

Often we do things without thinking through the repercussions. But the Hebrew writer tells us, “Think carefully; think it through.” The Message version says, “Let’s see how inventive we can be.” It takes a lot of thought to create and invent something. And when it comes to spurring people on to love and good deeds, it will take a lot of thought and consideration. After all, we are fighting against our selfish natures and it is difficult to get one another to do things that are unnatural.

It takes creativity to get some people involved. It takes inventiveness to show to some people how much they are loved and how special they are in God’s eyes and in our eyes. Some have retreated so far into themselves that they have difficulty opening up. But we need to make the effort to find out how to get in their world, understanding that we may never penetrate it completely.

It is a difficult process, but when we accomplish it, when we connect with them, this amazing thing occurs – the New Living Translation calls it an “outburst of love and good deeds.” As a teacher, there is nothing more satisfying than seeing the lights go on in the students’ heads, and they sit up and can’t wait to blurt out the answer. They are gushing and the joy is shared between both the student and the teacher. Well that is the picture that is painted here. As we spur one another on and motivate one another into love and good deeds we all reap the benefit. We all share in the joy of the outburst.

But in order for all of this to happen, we have to be committed to one another. We have to have the mentality that no matter what the cost, we will see to the betterment of one another. And it begins by meeting together. That is why verse 25 says, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Just coming to church doesn’t automatically result in unity and togetherness – but it sure seems like a good start. Unfortunately, we live a consumers’ world. There is always something being touted as better and cheaper. Did you have a bad experience at a restaurant, well guess what – there are 4 different restaurants within a half mile that you can try. Did you get snubbed by the Circuit City salesperson? Well Best Buy is ready to have your business. One of the biggest buzz words in marketing is “Product Loyalty.” Companies spend inordinate amounts of money to make you loyal to their product. That way, even if you have a bad experience, or you find a comparable product that is cheaper, you will still come back to them.

Fewer and fewer have that loyalty to the church anymore. Our loyalty is to ourselves. And so we are not really committed to the church and to one another. I can hear the TV add right now:
“Did you have a bad experience at church? Did you hear a bad sermon? Did you not like the songs? Did you feel snubbed? Did someone offend you? Well good news – there’s another church around the corner that that might suit you better.”
This is not the attitude of allelon. This is not the commitment needed for a church to grow.