Hebrews 12:1-11
Thursday, 17 December 2020
“…looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith...” -Hebrews 12:2
What does Scripture mean by “the author and finisher of faith” and “looking unto Him”? Let us reflect on the key verse of the day.
Author of Faith: The meaning of the Greek word used for author is “one who is the captain or prince”, and in that way Jesus is the Author of faith in establishing and perfecting Christian faith. Jesus lived the perfect life pleasing to God while on earth and became the Captain or Prince of all believers, even for the saints of the Old Testament times whose lives were neither perfect. He established Himself rightly as “the door” (John 10:9) and way to salvation resulting in eternal life. He is also the first fruit from the dead, He is the Alpha and thus He is the beginner- the author or Prince of faith.
Finisher of Faith: He is also the Finisher by way of being the fulfillment of all Scripture promises and prophecies and the Rewarder of those who endure till the end of our race. He is the Omega and He helps us to finish our race of faith by bringing us to Himself.
Looking unto Him: Now our role is to look unto Him or follow Him in all aspects of our life including, love towards God and others, faith in God, submission to the will of God, prayer life, etc… this list can be quite long if we think on the qualities of the Author of our faith who is unmatched. At the appointed time Jesus came to earth as one among us and set an example for us to follow in this life. He taught us how to be the Good Samaritan, how to be blessed by obeying His Sermon on the Mount. But we know that a perfect Christian life is not possible on our own; God has provided us with the immense grace to live a victorious life, enabling us to enjoy it provided we sincerely seek this grace.
We have many assurances from Jesus Himself, who wants us to look unto Him for our own good, during our race of life. He promised us to be our Shepherded always [“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.-John 10:11] and He will reside in our hearts if we open our hearts for Him. He told us that one who believes in Him will never die, meaning, we who believe in Him will be given eternal life. While on earth we are to trust in His care as Jesus has promised that not even one of the hairs from our head will fall off without His knowledge!
When Jesus said I am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6), he was actually proclaiming to the world to “look to Him” for eternal life, rather than to worldly authors and finishers for their faith—as it has become commonplace for people to put their faith in many places and many “ways”. “He is the way” is a promise and assurance for a beginner that he is on the right path. “He is the truth” is a warning for all of us that we should always hold onto what he has taught us – the Word of God. “He is the life” is the reward if we endure the race by looking unto Him. Without Him no one will enter the kingdom of God. He loved us more than His life and proved it by paying with his life—His love is a selfless love and it is right to believe in Him and follow Him as the author and finisher of our faith.
Prayer: Dear Lord help us to follow Your example always and run the race of life in the way You showed, by clinging on to the Word of God for light and Your grace for strength so that we will be with You in the eternity.