Bible Verses About

Posts Tagged ‘passion’

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1

There’s so much that can be said about this Bible verse about perseverance.  It has so many elements that are so integral to living the kind of life you can really be proud of.  I find it very interesting that the thing that gives us the ability to run the race with perseverance is the fact that we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses.  In other words, if you want to really live well, unburdened by sin and hindrances, you need to have strong Christian community.  Strong community produces perseverance.  I find that very interesting.

It’s also very convicting.  Most of the time, especially when I am struggling with sin, I don’t want to seek out honest community.  I want to do my own thing and be by myself.  It’s sad too, because those are the times that we need community the most.  Genuine Christian community should never be judgmental.  It should be encouraging.  If someone is struggling and is burdened by sin, a brother or sister can definitely help convict them.  But ultimately it’s up to the person himself/herself to change.  But getting back to the verse.  I love that through my Christian brothers and sisters, I have everything I need to rise above the things that hold me down and really live the kind of life I can be proud of.

“For death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.” Ecclesiastes 7:2

This Bible verse about death is actually very inspirational to me.  Though it’s not about death in the sense of someone who has recently passed away, it’s about death as the ultimate destiny of each of us.  Knowing that each of us is ultimately going to die is one of the big differences between us and the rest of living things on our planet.  Animals don’t know they’re going to die.  They’re locked in the eternal now, not thinking about the future or the past.  But human beings are different.  We can better our circumstance and strive to be more than what we were yesterday.  One of the things that compels me to become a better man and to try and live my life well is just the simple knowledge that life is short.  I won’t be here forever, and time is shorter now than it once was.

Some people go overboard with their preoccupation of death.  They’re terrified of death and it paralyzes a part of them.  That’s why I love how Solomon put it, “the living should take this to heart.”  You should be aware of your own mortality.  It should be something that you’ve thought about and use to help motivate you.  But don’t let it consume you, especially if you’ve been redeemed by God through believing in Jesus.  Those are my thoughts anyway.