Hebrews 12:2-3 tells us to look unto "Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds." These verses have always encouraged me to not give up in my stand of faith. Recently, I saw something in these verses that added to their effect on my life. Allow me to explain.

I always thought the phrase "despising the shame" meant that Jesus hated the shame of the cross and all that he went through for us. I discovered that the word despising means to "esteem lightly, to ignore." In other words, Jesus considered the shame of the cross as a light thing. We might say it was "no big deal." Well, certainly the cross was a big deal along with the torture and all Jesus went through, but in comparison to winning our redemption, Jesus considered it "a light thing." Jesus was not going to let the heaviness of what he had to go through, stop him from completing his job.

Don't allow the weight of what you're dealing with stop you either. Remember to consider it a light thing and it won't weigh you down. Have a great week.

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