“In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”

The Hebrews author makes sure we understand who we are fighting. It’s the sin that so easily gets us off track. As Christians, we have secured a victory over sin, but we are still confronted by it. Some were driven to chose Jesus or life. Yes, Christians were asked to shed their blood to prove their faith. That is not so foreign that we don’t recognize it in today’s world. It is still happening in various parts of the globe. Denounce Jesus or die is still the work of sin.

God never promised a roadbed of roses for those who believed in Him and His Son. Jesus never called a disciple to follow Him under the guise that His path would be an easy one. The way of the cross is marked by the drops of blood from the body of Jesus. When He invited us to carry His cross, He did not remove the agony of the cross.

Don’t give up our author is telling us. Don’t become weak and fall by the way because the going is tough. God will not abandon His people. Life here compared to life hereafter is vanity, all vanity.

Task for Today: Don’t give up the struggle. Don’t fear the shedding of blood. The reward is far beyond the price you might pay on this earth. I’m reminded of the line from an old hymn. “Earth has no treasures but perish with using.” Whether you die from lions or sword, your death will be the door to eternal victory.