Living in the Spirit
November 16, 2018
Scripture Reading: Hebrews 10:19-25
Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds. I got stuck on that word, provoke, as it somehow does not seem proper etiquette for encouraging good behavior. I turned to my trusty concordance and things got even worse! The Greek word paroksysmós means a provocation which literally jabs (cuts) someone so they “must” respond*.
I immediately recalled an incident from my childhood. We were having a fundraiser of some type at my school that involved food and my mother was in the kitchen cooking when my dad arrived. Several long rows of tables in our lunch room were filled with diners as Dad scanned the room looking for mom. He saw the back of her head and recognized the dress she wore, walked up behind and beside her placing his hand under her arm and asking her to scoot down when one of our elementary teachers, the person he had “jabbed” sort of screamed, jumped up facing him, wondering who on earth was accosting her. My Dad turned bright red stumbling back apologizing profusely. We never let him live it down needless to say. In all fairness, to Dad, the teacher’s hair was the same color and style as my mother’s and my mother did own an identical dress. We must be wise in who and how we provoke one another.
That said, this scripture does take us to task regarding our response to a world that seems to have lost its way at times from either loving one another or doing good deeds. Perhaps the example we need to explore is an athletic team where the players have no problem holding one another accountable for doing their part in winning a game. That is the way any good team works. Each participant must share the same level of commitment to the goal at hand. When someone is not doing his or her part they learn about it immediately from a fellow teammate.
Prayer: God, enable our teamwork as we strive to love one another and do good deeds. Amen.
*https://biblehub.com/greek/3948.htm