When I am driving in my car I often listen to the radio.  I enjoy listening to the Christian radio stations and sometimes I like to listen to AM talk radio.  One of the local news radio talk show hosts will often interrupt his callers with the phrase, “Wait now! Hold on a minute.”  It is his way of rebuking someone who has just said something he disagrees with.  It is usually followed by his own opinion on the subject.

Those same words can also be used in a very different way.  When I was only a few months old our family was visiting one of the beautiful water falls in Canada.  Our vantage point was from the top of the canyon wall hundreds of feet above the roiling river below.  All that separated the tourist from the dangerous edge of the cliff was a small fence.  My brother Jim who was still a toddler got a little too close to the chain link fence and accidentally slid under the bottom of the fence.  He was saved when the back of his pants caught on the bottom of the fence.  The words “Hold On!” take on a totally different meaning when shouted by a father to his son.  Dad quickly snatched my brother up and rescued him from certain death.

The words “hold on” can offer encouragement or rebuke depending on the context.  They can promise reprisal or rescue.  Jesus reminds the Church in His Revelation to John that we need to hold on to our faith and He tells the Church that there are some things he holds against us.  He wants us to remain faithful and obedient to His teaching and hold on until the day he returns.  “I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”  (Revelation 3:11 NIV)

What are you holding on to?  I am afraid that too many of us are simply like my brother hanging by the seat of our pants as we cling to the things of this world.  Jesus calls us back to himself, to shift our focus, change the direction of our lives, and hold on to him.

Starting in September we will look at Jesus' call to Hold On from the pages of Revelation.  Make plans to join us each weekend as we explore his diagnosis of what is wrong with the Church as well as his prescription for healthy living in God’s Church.