The Calling of God for all Christians is to persevere to the end (Hebrews 10:35-39). The great forgiveness, grace and reconciliation which God the Father has lavished on us demands our very life. The Lord wants our life for better or worse, in sickness and health, and in prosperity or poverty. Because at the very heart of discipleship is dependence on God alone and not walking isolated from Him and his Body (i.e. the Church).
The Word of God often describes people as sheep, which is a strange metaphor to compare with humans (Mark 6:34 cf. Ezekiel 34). When you really think about it, we are the dominant species on this planet, we are highly intelligent beings and have far more capacity than any woolly beast of the ground. However, before we get discouraged or annoyed by being labelled sheep, it is important to know God is called the Shepherd of these sheep. Therefore, the comparison is not so much about our ability but who we are in relation to our Creator as the one who is ruler over us.
God’s Word insists that perseverance in the faith is not just that we believe in, and belong to, God alone, but also, we are bound to each other as the body of Christ. The word perseverance can imply something, or a task done alone, however, for the Christian who is one of God’s sheep it is implied to be a personal yet corporate duty to be done together under the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:1-5).
Hebrews repeats four times “let us” draw near to God, hold fast to our hope we profess, consider how to spur one another on towards love and good deeds, and not avoid meeting as this can become a habit, and moreover encourage one another as we see the great day of the Lord which is approaching (He brews 10:22-25). Now, we should ask ourselves and others how can we persevere on our own? Or who could encourage another without any connection?
Therefore, we should hear the call of God’s Word for us all. We were like sheep without a shepherd who have a good shepherd in Christ. But also, we need to remember walking the pastures is done in a flock. A sheep on their own is open to vulnerability whether by illness or attack from wolves. There are two great tragedies of modern Christianity: one we can neglect gathering with God’s people and being spiritually fed and encouraged. The other is: those who can no longer gather, due to the reality of life in aged care or disability, are forgotten. For example, if we had the privilege of doing a pastoral visit to someone who was going to be with the Lord it meant we could spur them onto the end. As God’s people these are two things we all can reflect upon and pray to God for inspiration of how we can bless each other and help others persevere to the end until we see God face to face in Glory.
神對所有基督徒的呼召，就是要有毅力，堅忍到底（希伯來書10:35-39）。天父所賜給我們極大的饒恕、恩典與和好，要求我們獻上全人全心。主渴望我們將生命交託給祂，無論順境或逆境，健康或疾病，富足或貧窮。因為作主門徒的核心，就是單單倚靠神，不與祂和祂的身體（即教會）分離。
神的話語常以「羊」來形容人，這對人類來說似乎是一個奇特的比喻（馬可福音6:34對比以西結書34章）。當我們仔細思考，我們其實是地球上最具主導地位的物種，擁有極高的智慧，遠遠超過地上的任何毛茸茸的動物。然而，在我們對被稱為「羊」感到氣餒或不悅之前，我們必須知道，神被稱為這些羊的「牧人」。因此，這個比喻的重點不在於我們的能力，而在於我們與創造主的關係。
神的話語堅定地強調，信仰中的堅忍不僅是我們單單信靠並屬於神，也包括我們彼此之間在基督身體裡的聯結。雖然「堅忍」這個詞可能讓人聯想到是一項個人的操練，但對於基督徒——神的羊而言，這是一項既個人又團體的責任，要在大牧人之下一同完成（彼得前書5:1-5）。
希伯來書在第十章中四次重複提到「我們應當」：我們應當坦然無懼地親近神，堅守所承認的指望，彼此相顧，激發愛心，勉勵行善；不可停止聚會，好像那些習慣停止的人，倒要彼此勸勉，既知道那日子臨近，就更當如此（希伯來書10:22-25）。現在我們該自問，也該問問他人：我們怎能獨自堅忍到底？若彼此毫無聯繫，又怎能互相勸勉呢？
因此，我們應當聆聽神話語對我們每一個人的呼召。我們曾如同沒有牧人的羊，如今卻在基督裡有了那位良善的牧人。然而，我們也要記得，羊是在羊群中行走於草場的。獨行的羊容易遭受疾病或狼群的攻擊而變得脆弱。
當代基督信仰中有兩大悲劇：其一，是我們可能忽略了與神的子民一同聚集，失去了被餵養與被勸勉的機會；其二，是那些因年老或身體殘疾而無法再參加聚會的人，漸漸被遺忘。舉例來說，若我們有機會探訪一位即將回天家的弟兄姊妹，那就是我們能夠在他們最後的旅程中激勵他們堅持到底的特權與榮耀。
作為神的子民，我們都應該反思這兩件事，並向神禱告，求祂賜下靈感與智慧，好讓我們彼此祝福，互相扶持，一同堅忍到底，直到在榮耀中面見神的那日。
