Angela Parlin

So Much Beauty in All This Chaos

But We Do See Jesus

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See JesusThere is a place where someone has testified: “What is mankind that you are mindful of them, a son of man that you care for him? You made them a little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honor and put everything under their feet.” Hebrews 2:6-8a

The writer of Hebrews quotes Psalm 8, where the psalmist stands in awe of the idea that God places so much value on mere mortals. In a sense, we are insignificant. We live for a short time, and then we return to the ground we came from.

We are but a breath, His word says, and we all carry with us the scars which remind us that it’s true.

At the same time, God places a high dignity on human beings. He values us above the rest of His creation.

God’s plans for us are to be crowned with glory and honor, above all the rest of His creatures.

In putting everything under them, God left nothing that is not subject to them. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them. Hebrews 2:8b

Things are not as they should be. We are not there yet, and the shoulds accumulate day after day, burning us up from within.

Do you feel the pain of things in this world not being as they should be?

We all do, at least in times when we slow down and consider our lives. We feel the pain when things turn upside down, when we aren’t sure how to climb out of our current mess.

But the very next verse leads us back to our great hope in Jesus.

But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. Hebrews 2:9

But we do see Jesus, it says. Things in this life are not right, they aren’t.

But we do see Jesus, and He will eventually restore our dominion over the earth and then, everything will be as it should be.

Jesus was made fully human for a short time, in order to die for us. In order to taste death for all of us. Not only to taste death, but also utter humiliation.

Jesus went from heaven, to a manger in Bethlehem, to traveling town to town, ministering to the beings He created. He went to Golgotha, to the cross, to the tomb, tasting death and humiliation for us. He came up out of the tomb, when He was raised by the power of the Spirit, and later raised back up to heaven, where He now sits at God’s right hand.

Jesus went from lower than the angels to crowned with glory and honor.

And so I hope we do not soon forget the phrase, “But we do see Jesus,” because He changes everything.

Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11

 

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What Does it Mean to Ignore Such a Great Salvation?

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 Hebrews ignore salvation esteem Christ Lord

Pay the most careful attention to the gospel, so that you do not drift away.

As I wrote last week, this warning came to Jewish believers, who were tempted to return to the religion and rituals of their culture.

In the previous chapter, the writer reminds us of Jesus’ position as God’s Son–that He made and owns the world, sustains all things, is the representation and radiance of God, provides purification from sin, and is seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven.

In view of these truths about Jesus, our best response is to highly esteem Christ and His gospel.

Esteem Christ, who is superior to the prophets and angels, Christ who is superior to the Law of Moses. (See post on Hebrews 1–Jesus, Where Are You?)

Why, then, was the Law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The Law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. Galatians 3:19

The Law was given to make people aware of sin. But the Law was only a shadow of something better to come. The promised Seed, Jesus Christ, is that Something Better. Jesus is the superior One who we hold in the highest regard, whose offer of salvation we must never ignore.

For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, How shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? Hebrews 2:2-3a

The “message spoken through angels” refers to the Law of Moses, which demanded to be taken seriously. Hebrews 10 tells that anyone who rejected the Law died without mercy.

Since Jesus is greater than the Law, how much more seriously we should take His words? How much more should we act on them?

What does it mean to ignore so great a salvation?

After all, this passage is not speaking to unbelievers, but to believers. This question is not about rejecting Christ for salvation–it’s about neglecting to abide in Jesus Christ, to walk with Him each day.

To ignore such a great salvation is to neglect or make light of it. It’s to stay wrapped up in our own lives, and to make little room for the Lord. It could be simply staying too busy to spend time with Him.

When we neglect to meet with Jesus in prayer, and we choose to live our lives without the input of His Word, we are ignoring such a great salvation.

In Matthew 22, a king prepares a great wedding feast for his son, and his servants invite the guests to come.

But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. (verse 5)

They refused to stop what they were doing. They were too busy, and so they ignored the opportunity. Others were invited instead. Others were willing to come. What a sobering story.

May it never be the way we treat the gospel. May it never be the way we treat King Jesus.

And yet, haven’t we all at some time?

Let us abide in Christ and make room for His Word, so that we esteem Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives.

I’d love for you to join me on this journey…Subscribe in the box to the right, and you’ll never miss a new post! Thanks, Angela

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Don’t Drift Away

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drift away

On my birthday this last summer, my family blessed me with the gift of making the day all about whatever I wanted.

Talk about a Mom’s wildest dream! 🙂

We were staying at my favorite place, the North Carolina beach where the sun first kissed my skin and stole my heart and ate up weekends when it was only the two of us and two first real jobs.

It was the perfect day. There was running and music and my favorite people, warm sunshine and a light breeze, and all six of us jumping restless waves with screams and laughter.

We were headed back to the sand, and I was chatting away like I was already standing, stable on the shore.

My husband turned around and saw the giant wave coming over my head, but it was too late for a proper warning. It swallowed me, for a moment. It swept me right off my feet, while I carried on without a clue.

When I came up drenched and gasping, I had no idea I was missing something.

“Weren’t you wearing sunglasses a minute ago?” My husband asked.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t wearing the cheap backup pair that day. In which the ocean ate my sunglasses–happy birthday to me. 🙂

All of us looked for the frames, but they had clearly drifted away, never to be recovered.

We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. Hebrews 2:1

I think that’s one of the saddest phrases in the Bible. Drift away. So that we do not drift away.

It tells me that’s a possibility, people knowing Christ yet drifting away. Maybe they didn’t hear the warning. Maybe they heard, but they didn’t listen to it. Maybe they didn’t even realize they were slipping away.

Hebrews gives this warning–to pay the most careful attention–to Jewish believers, those who had heard the gospel and believed. Though they had tasted of heaven, some of them still drifted back to what was familiar. Though they embraced Jesus Christ as Messiah, they were going back to the old rituals, the old religion, the old sacrifices in the temple.

Everybody was doing those things, it seemed, living there in the shadows, stuck in the customs of their culture and trying to earn their way to God.

So this warning came, to listen carefully to the truth. The word therefore points back to the why, to the message of Hebrews 1, which I wrote about last week.

Because Jesus sits in the place of highest honor, at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. (Hebrews 1:7) Because Jesus is higher than the angels, higher than the prophets.

Therefore, pay attention, because you’re in danger of drifting away.

My friends, drifting away is easy. It happens quickly, naturally, even without realization. Paying attention is the hard part. Paying attention requires effort and awareness. It’s listening, but it’s also obeying, even though obedience to God’s Word is counter-cultural.

I want to encourage you to hold fast to the truth.

Jesus is the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him.

Jesus is the Bread of Life, the Light of the world, the Good Shepherd and the Gate, the Resurrection and the Life, the True Vine.

Are you anchored in the superiority of Jesus? Do you hold Jesus above all else in your life?

Or could you be floating with the world’s current, drifting away like sunglasses swallowed by a wave, unaware?

Hold Him fast.

~Angela

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Jesus, Where Are You? {#RaRaLinkup}

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right hand

Sometimes, life leaves us wondering, Jesus? Where are you?

Sometimes trials last year after year, and we don’t see how God works good things through those hard places.

So often, we need a reminder of who Jesus is and what He’s done and what He’s still doing for His loved ones.

The book of Hebrews begins by telling us that God speaks through Jesus to the world.

Previously, God spoke to the prophets, the Old Testament writers. He revealed Himself to them, with divinely inspired revelation, but that revelation was incomplete. He also spoke to people through angels. The original audience for this book, the Jews, had highest regard for the ministry of angels.

But now, God wants us to know, He has spoken in a far superior way.

God has spoken to the world through the person of Jesus Christ, His Son, who is greater than prophets and angels.

Hebrews 1 offers 7 awesome descriptions of Jesus Christ:

  • He is Heir of all things. He owns the world.
  • He made the universe.
  • He is the radiance of God’s glory. As the sun’s brilliance cannot be separated from the sun itself, so Jesus’ glory is also God’s glory. (NIV Study Bible)
  • He’s the exact representation of God’s being. Jesus is not just a reflection of God. He is God!
  • He sustains all things by His powerful word. In the beginning was the Word, John chapter 1 says about Jesus. Jesus holds everything together, sustaining the world with His powerful word (Colossians 1:17).
  • He provided purification for our sins. Through His death on the cross, He provided the payment, to fully redeem us.
  • He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

The right hand of God is the position of highest honor and limitless power. It symbolizes privilege, power, dominion, and authority.

We know from God’s Word where Jesus is. We don’t ever need to wonder.

Jesus is in the position of honor, at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven, actively ruling with God as Lord of all.

It’s interesting that it says “Jesus sits,” isn’t it? You don’t sit down unless your work is done. Jesus sits to symbolize that His work is complete. He has already paid the greatest cost to rescue us, and His work is complete.

Hebrews 1 continues to explain Jesus’ superiority to angels, quoting 7 Old Testament scriptures which show Jesus as God’s Son and the One whom even angels worship.

Angels may be fascinating to us, but they are simply God’s servants, His messengers, “sent to serve those who will inherit salvation.” They’re not rulers. They are beings God created to help carry out His plans for His people.

But the point of this chapter is not angels at all. The point is Jesus.

When our lives leave us wondering, Jesus, where are you?, we only need to be still in His presence and remember the truth.

Having completed His work for us, Jesus sits at the Majesty’s Right Hand in heaven, sustaining the world with His powerful word.

I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With Him at my Right Hand, I will not be shaken. Psalm 16:8

Kelly Balarie (22)

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