Don’t Throw It Away

Don’t throw away your confident trust!

“Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he had promised.”                             Hebrews 10:36

The context of the book of Hebrews was set post-Jesus. The resurrected Jesus had now ascended into heaven and it was up to the disciples of Jesus to carry on His story…His good news.  In this day, the Roman Empire was persecuting the people because of their belief in Jesus. To switch from Judaism to Christianity required a life sacrifice. It not only meant separation from their families, but separation from the protection of the Roman government. They could lose their life for this sacrifice. The writer of Hebrews pleaded with the Jewish people to not return to the Mosaic Law, but to press on and persevere for the sake of the good news of Jesus…there was a better way!

A small crowd began to gather.  As the men and women approached the circle, their faces looked tattered and worn.  What once were faces filled with zeal and hope had become faces of sadness and fear.  Their lives had been torn apart by the forces battling within them.  These were the Jewish people who had learned to love Jesus.  That statement sounds noble, but because of their newfound love for Jesus, they had been beaten and ridiculed.  All their possessions in this world had been taken from them and they had been thrown into jail. As the author of Hebrews looked intently into their faces, he could see every heartache, every tear, every feeling of hopelessness in their eyes.  They had battled for the sake of Christ to the point of void and emptiness.  I imagine that the author wanted to find something that he could give them to help them continue to carry on.  In his heart, he knew exactly what they needed…PATIENT ENDURANCE!

“Listen up…those of you who are beaten down,

those who are at the point of emotional destruction,

those of you who have lost your families and home because of your newfound faith in Christ…

PATIENT ENDURANCE is what you need now.”

The author looked longingly into their faces because he knew if he could convince them to hold on and to continue to push forward in their faith that PATIENT ENDURANCE in Christ would produce for them the promises God had given them.

As the author sat with these people before them, he looked into their weary eyes and said,

“Think back on those early days when you first learned about Christ. Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering.

Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten, and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things. You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever.”

                                                                                                                                Hebrews 10:32-34

I think that in his mind he was reasoning that if he could just get them to remember the “good ole days” that it would give them the courage to move forward…Remember what was good in order to fuel you through the bad…remember!

Then the author makes an incredible statement…

                DON’T THROW IT AWAY!

                                “Do do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord.”

                                                                                                                                                Hebrews 10:35

You cannot throw away something you don’t have.  

As he looked at the people who had gathered, he knew that they held within them a “confident trust” and he begged them not to throw it away!

I remember times when my children were young, and they would walk into the kitchen bringing me a wrinkled-up piece of paper. As they handed me that piece of paper, I would open it up to discover a beautiful masterpiece that they had created. It was usually a stick figure person with a house and a sun shining over the house. Sometimes it was simply a paper with undetermined lines and scribbles.  After they would explain to me what those lines and scribbles were, they would look at me and say,

“Mommy, DON’T THROW IT AWAY.”

“Of course, son.

That picture would join the other masterpieces hanging peacefully on my refrigerator door. 

The audience here in the book of Hebrews felt as though they had been handed a drawing with only lines and scribbles.  Lines and scribbles that made no sense to them.  They had turned this drawing all sorts of directions hoping that a different perspective would give them the clarity that they needed. They had given up everything for the sake of Christianity but were only experiencing loss. 

When was the drawing going to turn into a masterpiece?

When were they going to be able to hang it up in their gallery and be in awe of its beauty?

The writer knew that if they threw it away now, they would never see its beauty. They needed to hang onto the “confident trust” that would carry them through. So, he made a plea to them and said, “DON’T THROW IT AWAY.”

God has drawn a picture for us called life.  But that picture is filled with lines and scribbles.  We look at it perplexed.   We say thanks but walk away with confusion as we head towards the trash can to throw it away.  

Is this a joke God?

Is this the only thing that You have to give to me?

But God stands there as we walk away pleading in His heart, “DON’T THROW IT AWAY. If you do, you will never see the beauty that I intended for that drawing to portray.”

As my boys are now grown, the pictures of lines and scribbles have been taken down from the refrigerator door.  But because of their plea for me to not throw their creation away, those creations have now taken residency in their “memory boxes”. Occasionally I go through those boxes pulling out those master pieces.  In those moments, I remember those precious times when they were young boys.  As each boy grew into their teenage years, it brought more lines and scribbles as I watched them try to navigate through the chaos of life. But holding that piece of paper in my hands, I remember how those precious hands had drawn that picture.  As I hold that piece of paper,

… I remember!

” Think back on those early days…remember how you remained faithful.”  Hebrews 10:32

“Do not throw away this confident trust…remember the great reward it brings you!” Hebrews 10:35

So many times, in life, we get close to the trash can.  Life bombards us with challenges that make us quickly forget the “good ole days”.  When we get weighed down by those challenges, we are tempted to throw it all away.  But God is pleading with us to remember what He has done, DON’T THROW IT AWAY, and for us to remember how rewarded we feel in our hearts when we follow Him. 

If I had thrown away my children’s precious art, I would struggle to remember those moments between son and mom. Those precious moments when their sweet little hands and eager little faces handed me what they treasured most at that moment…their creation of lines and scribbles.

If the Jewish people in the book of Hebrews would have thrown away their “confident trust”, and stopped remembering they would never captured the reward their faith gave them.

If you throw away your own faith in the moments of despair and exhaustion, you will never be able to remember all of the things that Christ has done for you and you will not be able to capture the reward that is awaiting you.

                  DON’T THROW IT AWAY BECAUSE SOME DAY YOU WILL WANT TO REMEMBER