FROM HERE TO THERE OR THERE TO HERE

Hebrews 12:1-3 (KJV)
“1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 F...or consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.”
“This chapter is an exhortation to follow the witnesses of faith just mentioned: not to faint in trials: to remove all bitter roots of sin: for we are under, not a law of terror, but the gospel of grace, to despise which will bring the heavier penalties, in proportion to our greater privileges” (Jamieson – Fausset – Brown).
“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses”
We must understand, although our Christian experience and accumulation of all we know may be personal it is far from being individualistic. We must acknowledge the importance of being accountable to all God has worked out through those who have gone before us and are with us, they are our witnesses. What does this mean “they are our witnesses?” It means this: we are in search of truth as they were and are. What exactly have they witnessed concerning truth and how does that apply to our search? How can their witness add to our witness or subtract? How did Elisha get a double portion of Elijah? He respected what Elijah had right and learned from what Elijah may have had wrong. He was up close and personal enough to catch it. Our search is just as personal as theirs; they did not act individualistic and neither should we. There is value in what they have witnessed and there is value in what we have witnessed. Whether we are looking towards Jesus or at Jesus, it is all Jesus just the same. Let Jesus take hold of us as we take hold of Him. We are all dying. What are we doing between now and then to get as much as we can get? Regardless of the resistance Jesus encountered, still yet, He accomplished His mission in His death; so can we if we take joy in what is set before us. Rather than looking back and interpreting what we see now with what they have seen; let us start at the beginning and read forward then maybe the transformation can transform us further as we go. As with Elisha, their witness is not designed to keep us where they have been it is designed to lead us further. There is no need for restoration if in Christ we become a continuation.