Now What? part 5
The book of Hebrews speaks quite a bit about the high priest. About how Jesus is the fulfillment of that roll. He is our true High Priest. Now, this isn't the time or the place to get into all of the duties and activities of the high priest. I just want to highlight that in the Old Covenant he stood in between God and man, if I can say it that way. What I want to get to tonight is in Hebrews 9:25-26, "Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." Now once in the end of the world. What a great phrase. And, if my math is on point (which, admittedly, it probably isn't) the Bible was written a long time ago. Which is to say... the end... ended. And it ended when Jesus put away sin. Took away the sin of the world. Solved the sin problem, or the sin issue. (And no, that isn't a plug for my book called The Sin Issue, but I wouldn't mind if you checked that out...) Jesus ended the end. And began the beginning. That's the point. That's how I want to end this Rant series. The end is over. Sin is put away. Now what? Now we can live and love. Now we can stop focusing on what's wrong with people (and ourselves) and start focusing on what's right with people (and ourselves)! Instead of a sin hunt--Jesus put it away, took it away, He didn't hide it in the hopes that we would find it--we can go on a righteousness hunt. We can start to look IN people--and see the light inside, the heart inside, the love inside--instead of looking AT people and only seeing the surface stuff. That's what it means to not judge by appearance but to judge righteous judgment. Letting people be who they are as we all learn and grow together. Giving people grace. Grace to grow. Mistakes don't define us. They simply educate us. They teach us what to do, and what not to do. We're always waiting for Jesus to do something. Waiting for God to move. Well, friends, 2,000 years ago God moved. It was the cross. It was Jesus becoming sin and then dying so that sin would die. So that death would die. So that we could lay aside the weight and the sin that so easily besets us... because He has laid it aside. He took care of it. And in Him, He took care of it for us, and in us, and through us, and as us. The end is over. Now the beginning can begin. Death is over. Now life can begin. Sin is over. Now love can begin! Jesus did all of the heavy lifting. All of it. It is finished. It's a done deal. We are complete in Him. Because He is complete in us. And because His WORK is complete in us. The work of loving us. Jesus died for us, because He loves us. He gave His life for us, and gave His life to us. So that we could have it. So that we could experience His abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of love as He lives His own life in us, and through us, and as us. Now what? Now we can live. Now we can love. Now we can be who we were created to be by doing what we were created to do. We can receive and release the love of God!