24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good work 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of encouragement lately. A recent post of mine dealt with 1 Thessalonians 3:8-10, zeroing in on encouragement of Paul and from Paul to his readers.
But tonight I am pondering these verses from Hebrews 10. “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good work….”
Let us Consider—-let us deliberately and intentionally think about how we can stir up one another to love and good works. It doesn’t just happen. We must be deliberate about it; intentional about it.
And what would it look like, what would this “stirring up of one another” look like? Especially if we are going to be deliberate and intentional about it?
Encouragement, that is what it would look like. The gift of encouraging someone, and the gift of being encouraged by someone are not nothing. If we are going to be a universal church that is stirred up to love and good works, then it must start by practicing true Christian encouragement within the local church. Encouragement has the power to stir up each other to love deeply. Love that is real; love that is demonstrated in words and in deeds–in doing good works.
The next verse explains, I believe, that we can’t encourage each other to love and good works, if we are neglecting to meet together as a local body of believers. It should be a place where family–our brother’s and sister’s in Christ come together to worship our God. And through that Worshipping God together as one body, we encourage each other. How encouraging it is to sing loudly music to God alongside other believers! Along with that worship, is the creating of opportunities to love each other through conversations, through prayer together, through being sensitive and aware of the needs before you.
And to allow yourself to be encouraged as well.
How sad for those who neglect the “meeting together” that happens in Worship.
And then the verse says it outright–no more analogies or illusions to encouragement. No, instead it is stated as plainly as possible:
“encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near”
Time is short. We will get to go home to be with Jesus soon. But for now, I believe we must take seriously this exhortation to be proactive in seeking to encourage one another.
