It is only as the Hebrews keep their original confidence in Christ that they can truly be called partners in the Lord and share in His salvation and His heavenly rest to come. To begin well is good, but it is not good enough the writer says, and it is only those who stay the course and finish the race that have any hope of gaining the prize. The Jews of Moses' day had experienced God delivering mercy in the Exodus, and they had heard Him speak when He gave the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. Those initial experiences did not keep them from dying in the wilderness or guarantee their safe arrival into the Promised Land. Unbelief and disobedience, apostasy and apathy, have been the ruin of many a follower of Jesus Christ, and the author of Hebrews warns his readers of these twin dangers.
Persistence is the key to a lot of things in life.
I was talking with Marv Weybright, an older member of our church, a couple of years ago, and I discovered that he and his wife, Doris, came in fourth and second in their respective categories. Starting the race well is not as important as finishing it well. Yes, persistence is the key to a lot of things in life. They had an argument some years before and she refused to speak to him through all those years. There are times in the Christian life when adversity comes our way, or it feels like our prayers are bouncing off the ceiling, or when we experience a profound distance from the Lord and He seems a million miles away.