Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 11

The above is not something that you have read that often. Hebrews 11 and 12 are read often, but there are times when chapter 13 needs to be noticed. And it shouldn’t; there are some fantastic quotes in it. Like Verse 8: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

However, this text we are looking at starts with a strange comment: “let us go out to him, outside the camp, and bear the disgrace he bore. . .” This sounds and feels uncomfortable. And I suppose it is. It is uncomfortable in that we have to go outside the camp, outside of our walls, outside of where there are comfort, warmth, and people that we know. We must move beyond where it is safe to bear the same disgrace he had to endure. This is what it means to give our lives to Christ. It means we follow him into uncomfortable situations. We will not be able to stay within the well-guarded confines of our comfort zones. Instead, Jesus will call us to go out into the cold, where it may not seem as safe. However, our comforter will be with us and will protect us.

There is also an understanding that when we give our lives to Christ, we are no longer expected to make our homes in this world. We can safely say that we are looking forward to a home that we have not yet seen but one that has been promised to us.
Everything about these texts is uncomfortable. Going outside of the camp, that is where Jesus suffered and died (v.12). We are just strangers in this world, and we are to offer a continual sacrifice and give to those in need.

Growing up, my parents were huge folk music fans, and my mom and dad would sing together like any good folk music duet. One of the songs that they would sing was “this world is not my home, I’m just a-passing through. . . “ I can remember it like it was yesterday. The song talked about laying up our treasures in heaven and how we don’t feel at home in this world anymore.
 
That means that this world will always be uncomfortable for us. We will never really feel as if we belong here. We will always be foreigners in a strange land. And that is okay, as we are making sure that with this uncomfortable feeling, we are just preparing ourselves for heaven.

1. What does heaven mean to you?
2. Do you ever feel like you are uncomfortable here on this earth?
3. Would you go outside the camp in order to be with Jesus?
4. What does it mean to carry the same disgrace that he carried?