Hebrews 12:2 begins “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.”
Reading this reminds us that the origin of our faith is Jesus Christ. Our faith is not of our own design. We do not bring our own version of faith to Christ as a bridge to Him. This may seem obvious to most, but consider the great division that exists in the world over Christianity.
Listen to what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:10-13:
Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
“Is Christ divided?” he asks. This is why Paul writes the following to the Ephesians:
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Ephesians 4:4-6
Too often, since Christ presented the Gospel to the world, man has attempted to fashion Jesus after his own liking. We continue to see this today. Is Christ divided? Is Christ different for each of us? Paul says, “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.“ 1 Corinthians 9:22 By this, however, he is not suggesting that his character changed or the substance of what he taught varied by his audience. Instead, he is saying that he was able to identify himself with whomever he was speaking (read 1 Corinthians 9:19-23).
In this way, we may all experience Jesus differently. Some of us first meet Jesus on the cross, some find the compassionate Healer and others the Creator of all that surrounds us. Whatever attracts us to Him, for all of us, He is our Lord and Savior and He is “the same yesterday, today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8
So, let us consider Him and conform our lives to Him — “looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.”