Boldness takes many forms. Personally, when I’ve heard about Christian boldness, it’s been in the context of telling people to come to Jesus. And yes that takes courage. Those who speak prophetically also need a boldness not all of us feel we have.
Are you bold in those ways?
Maybe you’re bolder than you think. Hebrews is often read like a sermon. A message meant to encourage believers whose faith has grown tired. The preacher knows the kind of faith God planted in this community. It’s the same faith we see in the heroes of Scripture and in the church’s story.
But somewhere along the way, this congregation lost step with that faith. Life happened. Pressures mounted. They couldn’t always endure “being publicly exposed to insults and afflictions.” They were, like the old hymn says tired, weak and worn.
The preacher calls them to remember what they once had: “You had compassion for those in prison, and you cheerfully accepted the plundering of your possessions, knowing that you yourselves possessed something better and more lasting.”
Because he knows their witness, he urges them: “Do not, therefore, abandon that boldness of yours.”
In this context, boldness isn’t just about public preaching or strong convictions. It's about the willingness to sacrifice for others. But it's compassion that refuses to draw lines around who is worthy of love and care, even extending it to prisoners.
Maybe the prisoners of Hebrews’ day were different than those in ours. Or maybe the boldness we need is the kind that would still choose to care for them and for anyone whose situation makes them easy to ignore.
We often equate boldness with power and certainty. But it takes just as much boldness, maybe more, to be compassionate when the world would rather turn away.
Stay blessed...john | 
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