As so many times before, I heard a preacher, this time on the radio, talking about Hebrews 12:1-3.  He said, in part:

Yet, this is not what the word witness means in this passage.  This is not what the context demands of the interpretation for this passage.  In truth, Hebrews 12:1-3 should have been included as part of Hebrews 11:1-40, for it is the persuasive climax and the point of Hebrews 11.  Hebrews 11 is often called the "Bible's Hall of Faith."

We have thousands of years of written history which describes men and women of faith who came before us.  These men and women testify to us, witness to us, that God is good and that faith in God is worth living for and worth dying for. This history of faithful people is so vast that the writer of Hebrews says that time would fail him if he tried to be more inclusive in describing the vast cloud of witnesses who testify to us of the need to be faithful (Hebrews 11:32). 

This cloud of historical witnesses (Gk. "witnesses" or "martyrs") who testify to us of their own lives lived in faith surrounds us as a cloud of water droplets on a foggy day, their numbers being so great.  It is an inescapable witness to us.  We have no excuse if we chose not to see them, or to hear their testimonies. 

And it is Christ Himself who we are to set our eyes upon, for He is the one who awaits us at the finish line in the race of our personal lives.  Jesus, yet another who testifies to us of the need for faith, is not really just another witness, He is also the source and the object of that faith.

So then, what difference does it make if someone casually reads Hebrews 12:1-3 and misunderstands what "a cloud of witnesses" means?  Aside from the obvious flirtation with a mystical (and imaginary) cheerleading squad, and the temptation to play to that nonexistent crowd instead of fixing our gaze on Christ, there is the principle of responsibility involved here.

Preachers and teachers are responsible to actually study the Word of God before preaching about it.  Study, diligent study, involves far more than simply reading a passage and speaking about it off-the-cuff.  We have, I fear, traded off good exegetical practices in favor of holding friendly (but unstudied) dialogues that make people feel good. 

Hebrews 11 and 12 were written to demonstrate that we have no excuse for not understanding the need for, and the cost of, exercising faith in God.  The cloud of martyrs who have lived and died before us bears us witness that faith is costly but eternally important.  Faith requires commitment and endurance.

How is it that we have turned a biblical message on the need for endurance to the point of death into a feel good talk about having a personal squad of cheerleaders?  How?  The answer is that this age has lost its will for endurance.  The very thing Hebrews 11 and 12 warns us about!  We have lost the energy, the drive, the determination, to be faithful to all of God's commands and to His Word, even to the very end.  Study is hard, and it requires the diligence of faith--it requires endurance.

While talking to an acquaintance in the church lobby this morning, I caught a glimpse of a very unique and closely familiar shirt as it raced by.  The shock of seeing a 30 year old personal clothing item from my own closet pass in front of my field of vision actually stopped me talking in mid-sentence (a most difficult feat for anyone or anything to impose upon me).

Looking more carefully, I noted that the fit of the shirt belied that the wearer was not the owner, as it draped over the shoulders and sagged down to the elbows of the arms.  Yet, I was struck by a warm feeling of pride as my eyes recognized my pre-teen son as he too proudly wove his way through the assembled worshippers in his "retro" shirt, a relic from my personal past.

It was heartening to see that my son had determined that dad's old shirt was way cool and had decided to clothe himself in it.  By wearing my old shirt, it struck me that he looked like me, as if I was watching myself from afar.  I could not help but smile--my son looked like me, or perhaps it would be wiser to say, the way I used to look.

Is this, I wonder, how God views us when we attempt to imitate His Son?  When we put on His robes of righteousness, His tunic of holiness?

We put on the new self, but the clothing items that cover the new self are the eternally ancient "retro" articles of truth, love, and righteousness which have clothed God and Jesus from everlasting to everlasting.  These are hand-me-downs which I should be proud to wear, and, I suspect, God is pleased to see us wear and cherish them as did His only begotten Son when He walked among men.  Does He see anything of His own likeness or that of His Son in me?

Do you remember when your mother or father offered you this advice right after you experienced either a great triumph or a horrible personal failure:  "There is always someone waiting to take you on who is better than you."?  They meant that to be an encouragement, to make you understand that defeat is just as much a part of life as is triumph and that everyone experiences defeat every now and then.  A kid should neither feel too bad for losing nor be too cocky for winning, this time.

Now by defeat, I do not mean sin, rather, I mean that in whatever way we personally choose to measure the success of personal ministries, or the success of our family life, or even the success of our fellowship with others, we seem to always fall short of our personal expectations and fail to live up to the measures of what we think ought to be considered 'success.'  Assuming you are one of us who feels they more often see defeat than triumph, take comfort in these facts: 

Both our triumphs and our perceived defeats serve the common good of the body of Christ.  And while there is probably someone who is more skilled, talented, and spiritually gifted in whatever ministry area to which you have been called, your unique ministry is necessary, honorable, and achieves a unique effect within the church which no one, not even a more gifted person, can achieve.  Whether they know, understand, or believe it, your ministry is necessary to the church and good for them, and it will have an effect that no one else may ever be able to accomplish.