Laziness is bad, especially when it comes to faith. So the writer of Hebrews encouraged his readers to imitate those who knew how to press on, even in tough times.

Hebrews 6:12 says: “We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”

Why do you think the Terry Fox run is so successful year after year? My sense is that many of us have been impacted by the horrors of cancer and we’d like to be a part of its end. But we’re also inspired by Terry Fox himself. He basically ran a marathon every single day to raise money and awareness for cancer research—and he did so while in extreme pain. That’s inspiring! Surely we can run a few laps in the rain if Terry did all that.

So if we’re feeling discouraged or downcast, who should we imitate? The text tells us: “those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”

I remember playing hockey with a guy who would never get knocked over. His centre of gravity was so low and close to the ice. Think of people who are like that but in a spiritual way. They have a low centre of spiritual gravity because they show faith and patience and faith and patience and faith and patience… no matter what.

They are the ones who don’t tend to get knocked over. Do you need some inspiration? Look to those people—who live day in and day out with faith and patience and faith and patience—and imitate them.

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Notes:

–Bible quotes are from the NIV.