“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 has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility… lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.”
Hebrews 12:2-3 NKJV
My whole life I’ve been told to stop comparing myself to others. Comparison is the thief of joy I was told – it’s an unfair and impossible weight to measure.
Yet, the author of Hebrews, who is believed to be Paul by many theologians, tells me there is One to whom I should compare myself – Yeshua, the One who endured the cross.
The Greek word for consider in this passage, which is used only once in the New Testament, is analogizomai – meaning to ponder, think over, and consider by weighing against and comparing. Consider Him – ponder my life, compare my situations to HIM who endured the cross lest I become discouraged.
We are told one time in the Bible to compare our lives to One person – Yeshua – because comparison to Him is the antidote to weariness and discouragement. The Amplified translates this passage this way:
“Just consider and meditate on Him who endured from sinners such bitter hostility against Himself [consider it all in comparison with your trials], so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
I dare say comparison in and of itself is not wrong – rather the issue is what we compare ourselves to. When I view myself in the shadow of the cross, gazing at it, and meditating on the sacrifice, the beauty and the grace within, my heart finds the rest I so desperately long for. And in light of the cross, the judgement others place on me loses its power. More of Him. Less of me. Always.
Father – Thank You for the cross. Help me to keep my gaze fixed on You alone and not on the things around me. May the cross become my measurement for all things. You are good and You keep doing good. Your leadership in my life is perfect and You can be trusted. Amen.
Daily Reading: Hebrews 11-13
December 13, 2022