I have been reading through Hebrews lately. I have read through it many times before, but it hasn't ever caught my attention the way that it has this time. You understand how that happens, right?! Anyway, I read this passage from chapter 2, and I have been going back to it about every other day; pulled back to it. I keep asking what God is trying to tell me, and today I began to see it a bit differently.
"So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it. The message God delivered through angels has always proved true, and the people were punished for every violation of the law and every act of disobedience. What makes us think that we can escape if we are indifferent to this great salvation that was announced by the Lord Jesus himself? It was passed on to us by those who heard him speak, and God verified the message by signs and wonders and various miracles and by giving gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever he chose to do so." (Hebrews 2:1-4 NLT)
So, I have been thinking alot about what it means to drift away from the "truth." Have you ever thrown a piece of wood into a stream of water and watched it "drift" downstream? The current "pushes" the wood in whatever direction, and at whatever speed, it so chooses. Provided it doesn't get caught up in the dead stuff, or rocks (which is a whole other metaphor), it doesn't stop until the water is done pushing it. If we don't hold on to the truth (the gospel: death, burial, and resurrection of Christ), the current of popular culture is going to push us around until it is tired of pushing. Or, we get caught up in the "dead stuff" hanging out in the water. That can't be good either because it isn't moving at all.
This passage tells us that the law, given by God, has held true to its word since it was given. Those who violated it were punished accordingly. It seems as though the writer is telling us that this "great salvation" that we have now is so much greater than the law of the Old Tesatement. So, if people received due punishment for violating that law, how much worse will it be for us that ingore the truth of this great salvation and just drift around in the current of popular culture? The writer says that the apostles were messengers who verified this truth from Christ because they saw it first hand! We are also told that God further verified his truth with signs, wonders, miracles, and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Have you ever noticed that 99 percent of the time, driftwood is "dead" wood? So this brings me to my real question for this devotional thought today. Are you just dead wood drifting downstream, pushed every which way by the current of popular culture? Or, are you alive and well, determined to swim upstream and fight the current to avoid just being pushed around? As I read this passage, I was forced to ask myself a question. I challenge you to do the same! What "signs" is God using today to verify his message to me?
God bless you all and have a great weekend!!
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
The Christian life is a journey. Some parts of the trip are more rough and slow than others. But along the way, we all need the "tidbits;" the snacks, the fuel, the directions that help us get from point A to point B. Those tidbits come from both our spiritual lives and our everyday lives. I just want to be able to share some tidbits with my friends, reap the benefits of theirs, and soak up the tidbits from others along the way. Come in, read, enjoy, and share!
About Me
- The Journeyman
- Striving each day to be a better husband, father, and disciple of Jesus Christ.
Other sites of interest:
"Quotations that interest me!"
“We have to embrace the Bible as the wild, uncensored, passionate account it is of people experiencing the living God.” - Rob Bell
"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there." - Alice in Wonderland
"Out of complexity, find simplicity." - Albert Einstein
"Faith does not guarantee that you will not have struggles, but faith does guarantee that you will rise above them." - unknown
"The currents that determine our dreams and shape our lives flow from the attitudes we nurture everyday!" - unknown
"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there." - Alice in Wonderland
"Out of complexity, find simplicity." - Albert Einstein
"Faith does not guarantee that you will not have struggles, but faith does guarantee that you will rise above them." - unknown
"The currents that determine our dreams and shape our lives flow from the attitudes we nurture everyday!" - unknown
5 comments:
Have you ever heard a song for the hundredth times, and for whatever reason you hear a specific lyric that you had never heard before? One could speculate many reasons for this, but bottom-line the lyric was always there. The change occurred in the listener not the message. I believe that the Hebrews writer is asking us to listen more attentively to the Word. However, knowing the words of a song does not necessitate a life change. But better understanding that Jesus was/is REAL (REALLY ALIVE - IN AN IMPERFECT WORLD, REALLY CRUCIFIED - FOR THE SINS I HAVE COMMITTED, AND REALLY RAISED - FOREVER DEFEATING DEATHS HOLD ON ANY OF US) causes me to evaluate my priority structure. So we need to allow ourselves to not only listen to the Word, but also to allow the necessary changes in “My Life” that will be needed. Jesus was/is an active Savior, and we need to follow his example and not be passive like the driftwood. I think this idea will continue to grow…thanks for starting it!
Good thoughts, Joe! Thanks for replying. I really did enjoy reading your response. The "Word" will always be there, maybe we do need to start listening more intently.
I enjoyed reading "Driftwood". I fully agree with you that the Word is multifaceted and alive and you can glean something new every time you read it. I think that God reveals truth to us through His word gradually and in the way and speed that He thinks that we can absorb it. I think that our lives are always changing as well. They are never the same. Just when you think that you have achieved "calmer waters" you are interrupted by mean rapids. Just ask Brian and Debbie Ray who took their toddler to Children's yesterday with a Black Widow spider bite. I feel that the Word speaks to us in different ways as our lives dictate as well. The things we tend to need the most at the time are revealed to us through His word and through The Spirit.
I also suppose that there is a possible different slant on that Hebrews passage as well. I would think that it depends on what you consider the core "truths". For some, the "truth" is the gospel and the good news of mercy, salvation, grace and everlasting life.---Nothing more and nothing less. For some, "truths" are teaching styles, worship styles, Bible class or no class, benevolence or no benevolence, one cup or many, raising hands- raising eyebrows and the list goes on in perpetuity. Some of us hold on to the truth of the Gospel and others of us hold on to the teachings of our forefathers and ancestors and abhor the very thought of "drifting" away from those teachings and practices. I guess this discussion goes back to the principle that the Word is multifaceted and speaks differently to different people. Maybe it is why we tend to draw lines in the sand in our churches until the lines are blurred and we care more about our "LINE" in the sand and the "LION" in our lives and in our churches goes unnoticed and forgotten!!!!
Thanks joe d!!! I really enjoyed reading your thougths about this passage as well. I especially liked the picture of the "line" in the sand and the "lion" within us. It sure should make us think about which one we give more attention to!
Post a Comment