Today in the One Year Bible, we read something we've heard many times, from Hebrews 7:18-28. Paul says that we can't save ourselves by obeying the law. And he goes on to say that Jesus saves us through the gift He gave of Himself as the ultimate sacrifice.
How confusing this must have been to the people in Jesus's time. They had been taught... and they had believed... for generations... that the way to be saved was by keeping the law. If they were holy enough, then God would look on them with favor and take them to heaven. How shocking it was to have this man who claimed to be the Messiah... claimed to be GOD... tell them that sinners would be saved. That He came to heal the sick. That He would save them, and that they actually could NEVER be saved by being good enough and keeping the law perfectly.
But if they had been paying attention to the STORIES of the Old Testament, and not just the laws, they could have figured it out. So many stories of scamps and vagabonds that are loved so tenderly by God. Stories of prostitutes who become part of the divine lineage. Stories of people who steal the birthright... and end up as God's favored son. God has always loved those who may not do things perfectly, but who love mightily.
Do we pay attention to those stories today?
God, thank You for showing us all along how Your love trumps the law... and continues to today.
No comments:
Post a Comment