Hebrew 12:2-3 “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

            Jesus is the author of our faith. My faith isn’t a do-it-yourself project. It was a gift: truths, beliefs, new understandings and dear convictions written in Jesus’ hand on my heart when his word and sacrament called me to faith. Keeping my faith isn’t a do-it-yourself project, either. Jesus is the perfecter, the finisher, like a gardener who never stops tending and improving his garden; like an artist or craftsman who constantly maintains and upgrades his work. Perhaps it makes sense to give him our attention.

            This is what we will see: “…who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” In the Believers Hall of Fame, no one overcame more than Jesus did. Others died to remain faithful to God. But none of them died so innocently as Jesus did. None of them, so far as I know died so miserably as Jesus did. Most of their deaths came rather quickly compared to his day of beatings, insults, and then the slow, torturous death on the cross.

            But Jesus is more than the supreme example of faithfulness to the end. Along with everything else, no one ever died with greater purpose. He endured the cross “for the joy set before him.” That joy was more than his own escape to heaven. It was the joy of souls redeemed and forgiven by the price he paid in their place. It was the joy of a world reconciled to God, peace and love reestablished between heaven and earth. It was the joy of having you as part of his family, knowing you would now belong to him, and that nothing in all eternity could ever separate you again.

His love and sacrifice are more than an example to follow. They are the reason we know that, no matter how bad things get in our world, God still loves us and our stories will end in the greatest “happily ever after” there ever was. That is why we want to “consider him who endured such opposition from evil men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”