Are You Weary?
Years ago, I was speaking to a minister and a sort of informal mentor of mine. I can’t recall the content of the discussion, but I do remember telling him at one point, “You know, I’m just so tired. I’m tired of fighting sin. I’m tired of seeing the effects of sin. I’m just tired. I wish Jesus would come right now and give me rest.”
His response was perfect: “Jim, you have a long race still ahead.”
In the moment, I was probably frustrated. Why did he bring up my age? What’s wrong with being tired of sin? Isn’t being weary of this world a good thing?
When I got to seminary, my first class was on the book of Hebrews. In my course of study, I came across this passage in Hebrews 12:
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood (Heb 12:3-4).
The memory flooded my mind. I began to understand what he meant. Being tired was indicative of a fight against sin (which is indeed good!), but complaining about it was indicative of slowing to a walk and calling a cab to go home during a marathon. I was growing weary, and my race had barely begun! I wonder what you might be weary of now?
Doubtlessly, you’re tired of your own home. Working from home may not be as glamorous as you thought. Perhaps you’d love to work from home, but you grow weary of the anxiety you feel every morning you wake up without a job. Are parents yet weary of their children’s weariness of being stuck at home? Students are beyond weary of Zoom classes and online school, surely!
While you are weary of quarantine life, and all the effects this bears upon your life, the Pastor of Hebrews asks a different question: Are you growing weary of fighting sin?
While we’re all busy washing our hands, stocking up on cleaning supplies, and sanitizing literally everything we can get our Clorox wipes on, have we allowed sin to fester in our hearts? I pray the answer to that is no, but I know change, particularly radical change such as our current state, can throw us for a loop. The Pastor of Hebrews becomes all the more relevant. Examine Heb 12:3-4 with me for more than a moment, and see 3 quick things which speak to our spiritual weariness:
Consider Jesus
Jesus knows this weariness. The Pastor reminds us that Jesus endured from sinners such hostility against himself (12:3). In one sense, Jesus understands this better than we do; he was undeserving. The hostility he endured was because of his holiness, his blamelessness, not because of evil or wickedness. Jesus was not ambitious, arrogant, or malicious. He was not garnering votes, seeking to overthrow existing political systems, or kill anyone. Jesus came to call people to be in the world, but not of it. His message was one of peace—peace with God.
Yet, he endured hostility. Such hostility was from men who were wicked, ambitious, arrogant, malicious, seeking to garner votes, support for agendas, and to overthrow political systems. Jesus endured hostility from sinners, while himself not being one. Are you weary? Jesus understands.
As you consider Jesus, though, notice what the Pastor is implicitly telling you not to do: look at yourself. As William Hendricksen says, “[The Pastor] knows the tendency to look at the Christian and not at the Christ. Introspection causes spiritual weariness and discouragement, but looking at Jesus renews the Christian’s strength and boosts his courage.”1
Consider Jesus’ Purpose
A few weeks ago, though I can hardly believe it’s been weeks, my father-in-law and I went into a running store so I could get properly fitted for running shoes. While we were waiting our turn, he (a runner himself) takes me over to the “power gel” section of the store and starts telling me about gels, when to use them, and what his favorites are, and so on. Given that I’m so naive and unknowledgeable on the subject, I let out a small laugh and said, “Yeah but these aren’t really necessary, right?” Boy, was I wrong. He endured my gentle mockery with grace, and calmly explained that after a certain point, the body needs energy to keep going. A good hearty diet and gallons of Powerade aren’t enough; at some point during a long run, a good pack of power gel is like a shot in the arm. It keeps you going.
The Pastor of Hebrews doesn’t just give an example in bringing up Jesus and encourage us by saying Jesus had it worse and we can endure it. He gives us a pack of power gel to get us to keep running in the form of a cherished Gospel principle. He tells us the purpose of Jesus’ endurance of such hostility: So that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. We’re told that one reason that Jesus humbled himself and came to endure the cross and shame, the hatred of his fellow man, is specifically so that we could look to Jesus. We fix our eyes upon Jesus as the author and perfecter of our faith (12:2). This is no mere exercise in intellectual or cognitive discipline; this is not meditative practice. By partaking of Jesus in the Supper, reading of him and his love in the Word, and experiencing the community for which he has created us, we are fixing our eyes on the one who not only authored our faith, but also perfects it.
You see, then, the purpose of Jesus’ endurance is as an example, yes, but also as a powerful savior who is actively working salvation in our very souls now. Jesus not only gifts us with faith in him, but regularly gives us the strength to endure the fight with sin and the scorn of the world. As we grow tired, then, we look to him as we grow more and more dependent upon Christ in our fight against sin. Runners need power gel to go the distance; Christians need Christ.
Consider Jesus’ Blood
Speaking of Gospel principles, the Pastor takes us back to the most fundamental truth: Jesus Christ shed his blood for this very purpose. Jesus was killed to be a ransom for many. Jesus came to forgive the sins of the world. Jesus shed his blood as propitiation, or the thing which satisfies God’s justice. His blood is important, and we all know that by now. Consider, though, how his blood impacts our endurance. Jesus endured even though he shed his blood.
We, by contrast, have not yet had to do this. Whether the Pastor here thinks of literally shedding blood, like that of martyrs, or metaphorically, as fighters in arenas who are victorious despite shedding blood, it is of no consequence here. The point remains: we live, according to the Pastor, in relative peace and spiritual ease. This ease usually breeds complacency, resulting in frustration and an opportunity for sin, which lurks around the corner, desiring us. Consider the athletes who aren’t competing currently; if we started Baseball tomorrow, the ease many are experiencing in this extended offseason compared to the continual competition usually happening at this point would likely be too great. Many would likely injure themselves! Their muscles haven’t been worked as they would have been.
So it is with us, friends. We feel weary, torn down, exhausted, and sick and tired of this race. Our muscles burn, but this is the easy part of the race! Yet, we do not fear. We have a forerunner (Heb 6:19-20), who shed his own blood. We know it is possible for us to endure this race, for the one who has endured far, far worse did so for us, even to the point of shedding his own blood. He calls us to finish the race, to fight the fight, and potentially even lose some friends, some sleep, or some blood in the process. But he provides for all our needs in our exhaustion by something so simple it seems too good to be true: just look to him.
Are you weary of quarantine life? Me too, friends! I pray this weariness, however hard or uncomfortable it may be, is not causing you to grow weary of running the course. I pray you stay in the fight against sin. I know you can endure quarantine because I know you can endure the fight against sin, and I know you can endure the fight against sin because of Jesus Christ. Remember his words from John 10:27-28:
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
Beloved friends, look to Jesus for your every need.
1 Simon J. Kistemaker and William Hendriksen, Exposition of Hebrews, vol. 15, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001), 369–370.