Hebrews was written for people who were losing or had lost their faith. Kind of like Christians in Canada who grew up in the church and who no longer attend church, or who no longer believe, or who are experimenting with other possibilities, or who still come to worship but are not quite sure if “this God thing” is real, true or at all practical.
There is so much in our culture that denigrates church or being a Christian, and that challenges the very existence of God in any form. And especially, our culture challenges the possibility that the great I AM could be a God of love, compassion and forgiveness. So much difficulty and tragedy happens during our lifetime, it can be hard not to succumb to this kind of thinking when life gets really dark.
We do not have to succumb to this kind of thinking just because it’s easy and popular. We know the truth: that God has not, does not and will not ever give up on us. That is God’s everlasting promise to us. For that we can surely sing God’s praises and worship God with reverence and awe.
All powerful God, teach us to be Christ to one another. Give us the words and deeds that will spread your name and your constancy throughout the world. Amen. — SB