Think!
After reminding us of the privileges we have in Christ, the writer of Hebrews calls on us to respond. In Hebrews 10:24 and 25, he highlights one of our most critical spiritual responsibilities: the call to intentional thinking.
“And let us consider…”
We should notice who he is addressing. He’s talking to us. Not just pastors or church leaders, everyone of us who is a believer. If you have access to God through Christ, if you have Jesus serving as your great high priest, he’s talking to you.
And he’s telling you that you need to think.
This is something that requires effort. It involves setting aside distractions, quieting our surroundings, and intentionally focusing our minds. Let's be honest: that's hard. It's far easier to operate on auto-pilot, avoiding deep thought because it requires energy and self-denial. It involves making choices. You are going to have say no to certain things that you might want to do so that you have the necessary time to think. Yet, as followers of Christ, intentional thought is not optional; it's essential. If you are a Christian, you need to be a thinker.
But what does he tell us we need to be thinking about?
“How to stir up one another…”
The original Greek word translated as "stir up" could literally mean "to irritate." He’s commanding us to think about how to irritate or provoke others. That sounds strange, I know. We use the word irritate in a negative way. He certainly isn’t using it like that here. But, think about how irritation feels. When you are irritated it creates an energy that propels us into action. The writer here positively urges us to think about how provoke zeal and energy like that in others.
To what?
“To love and good works…”
The fact we have this command means something important. It means we need a certain attitude toward love and good works. We need to be stirred up. The church isn't meant to just be a group of people who are okay with loving and doing good things; it's meant to be filled with people who are passionate about it. Yet, the very need to think about stirring each other up shows us that even though we’re Christians, have the Spirit of God, and know clearly what we’re supposed to do, we still need help being excited and motivated to do those things. Loving others and doing good works takes effort, energy, and often feels hard. Despite all our spiritual resources and knowledge, we’re not always naturally eager to do what God calls us to do. This is a big part of why we need relationships with other believers so badly.
God didn't design us to live the Christian life alone. Regular, committed relationships with other believers protect us from becoming spiritually hard-hearted and help us maintain zeal and passion. Being part of a local church means identifying specific people you're especially responsible for spiritually—people who clearly articulate their faith, want spiritual help, and commit to helping others. When you become a member, you recognize this as one of your primary responsibilities. God wants us to actively love others by thoughtfully stirring them up.
First of all to love. There are many different ways we can try to motivate people to do good. Pride can be a motivator. Selfishness. Shame. But God’s calling us to a much better motivation. Love. If we are believers, God has given us a love for other people. But just because we are Christians doesn’t mean that we are always loving people. Sometimes we get tired. Sometimes it feels too challenging. It’s pretty normal to have a hard time lother other people well. This is why we need friends who are thinking about how to stir us up to love.
And to good works. You might wonder why he adds that. If I stir you up to love, isn’t that enough? If you are defining love biblically, yes. But perhaps it helps to add good works here because if he stopped with the word love not everyone would be thinking outwaredly enough. You can imagine someone thinking I’m loving and being satisfied with something less than biblical love. So he challenges us to think about how to stir others up to love and good works. Works are actions. If you are thinking about how to get someone stirred up to good works, you are thinking about how to get them excited about doing something.
But what is good?
Hebrews doesn't just say "right works" but "good works." Goodness implies more than correctness. It denotes beauty, appropriateness, helpfulness, and attractiveness. Good works require thoughtful zeal and selfless effort because they often go against our natural instincts of self-preservation and comfort. They're not random actions; they're carefully chosen deeds performed in the right way, at the right time, and for the right reasons.There’s normally a cost to them.
That’s why we need to be stirred up. We need energy and zeal if we are going to do things that are noble and beautiful and attractive, and the church should be known for doing things like that. While we are not saved by good works, we are saved for good works. And one of the good works he’s prepared for us is to be a biblical friend who thinks hard about how to help other believers have energy and zeal and drive to do that.
Are you?
What do you think?
