Love & Good Works (Hebrews 10:24–25)

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
– Hebrews 10:24–25

There is so much here. This is one of my favorite parts of Hebrews, where you see three consecutive exhortations, all flowing from what Jesus has done for us on the cross. Verse 22 says, “Let us draw near to God with a true heart in full assurance of faith.” Verse 23 says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering.” And then verse 24 says, “Let us consider”—let us intentionally think about—“how to stir up one another.”

What a phrase: how to stir up the people around us toward love and good works.

Hebrews 10:24–25 shows the power of intentionally stirring others to do good.

Do you not want that to be the fruit of your life today—that because of your influence, people around you are more loving and doing more good? What a picture. And do you not thank God for the people in your life who make you better—more loving, more devoted to good works—because of their influence?

That is exactly what Hebrews 10:24 describes: people around you becoming more loving and more active in good works because you have intentionally considered how to stir this up in them. Your influence leads them toward love and goodness.

This is God’s design for the church. That is why verse 25 adds, “not neglecting to meet together.” One of the reasons we gather as the body of Christ is to encourage one another toward love and good works. Church is not merely attending a service and leaving. It is coming together with brothers and sisters to help each other love God, love others, and do good that brings glory to God.

Hebrews 10:24–25 reveals the danger of neglecting the church gathering.

And let me emphasize this from verse 25: if you have fallen into a habit of not gathering with the church, let God’s Word speak clearly. That is not a good habit. Come together with the body of Christ—not to check a box, but to stir others up, knowing they need this from you and you need this from them.

O God, we pray that you would help us live out this exhortation. Help us consider—truly think, intentionally—about how to stir up others around us toward love and good works. May the fruit of our lives today be people loving you, loving others, and doing good to your glory because of our influence in their lives.

Help us, in your church, to make it our habit to gather for this purpose—to encourage one another and spur one another on toward greater love for you and others, and toward more good works that glorify your name. And all the more as we look forward to the day when we will see your face.

A Prayer for the Bobo Madare People

God, we pray this for our brothers and sisters around the world, as we pray for the Bobo Madare people of Burkina Faso—293,000 men, women, and children who do not know you. Stir up your church in Burkina Faso, and stir up your church in many places, to spread your love and your gospel among the Bobo Madare. May they be reached with the good news of the One who died for their sins and rose again to give them eternal life.

God, stir up love and good works through our lives, through our churches, and throughout your global church—specifically among the Bobo Madare people of Burkina Faso.

We pray this in Jesus’ name, according to Hebrews 10:24–25. Amen.