Whose Lookin' At You

"Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us" - Hebrews 12:1 

When you read that verse, what image comes to your mind's eye? Perhaps something like the Superbowl stadium. The stands filled with Saints who have gone before us. Watching every move, good and bad, that we make. Cheering us on to live by faith. I know that is what has come to my mind. 

Recently Martie and I have been watching something called the "Repair Shop", a BBC program. People bring in family heirlooms that have fallen into disrepair seeking to have them brought back to life, if you will. Their hope is to have the restored object serve as a visual, physical reminder of the loved one that has passed on before them. The result is always very emotional for the owners of the heirloom. It almost seems like ministry. In fact, it conjures up the feelings that I have had when we helped people who were dealing with devastating loss recover, in part, by repairing their homes. 

The law of Christ referenced in Galatians 6 is referring to Matthew 22:37-39, love God and love others. It was interesting that in the majority of cases on the Repair Shop, the person would say something like "If [my loved one] is looking down I know that they are proud of what has been done." Like if they are in heaven, looking down, the person who has passed would be happy that the broken item was fixed. Seems like a nice thought, but I wondered how that thinking syncs with what the Bible says about our mortal death. 

Does the Hebrews reference to a great cloud of witnesses mean to say those in my family that were saved before their passing are sitting in the heavenly stands watching me? There is a web site called GotQuestions.org that answers Bible questions that I have found helpful from time to time. This is it had to say.

"So who are those that comprise the “cloud of witnesses,” and how is it they “surround” us? To understand this, we need to look at the previous chapter, as evidenced by the word therefore beginning chapter 12. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the rest of the Old Testament believers looked forward with faith to the coming of the Messiah. The author of Hebrews illustrates this eloquently in chapter 11 and then ends the chapter by telling us that the forefathers had faith to guide and direct them, but God had something better planned. Then he begins chapter 12 with a reference to these faithful men and women who paved the way for us. What the Old Testament believers looked forward to in faith—the Messiah—we look back to, having seen the fulfillment of all the prophecies concerning His first coming. 

We are surrounded by the saints of the past in a unique way. It’s not that the faithful who have gone before us are spectators to the race we run. Rather, it is a figurative representation and means that we ought to act as if they were in sight and cheering us on to the same victory in the life of faith that they obtained. We are to be inspired by the godly examples these saints set during their lives. These are those whose past lives of faith encourage others to live that way, too. That the cloud is referred to as “great” indicates that millions of believers have gone before us, each bearing witness to the life of faith we now live." - Got Questions.org

There are a great many spiritual things that we don't fully understand now that we will later. There is much more that can be said about what happens when we, as Christians, die a physical death. Perhaps I will share my understanding about that later - but not today.

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone