For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself...For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified." -Hebrews 9:24–26; 10:14
A part of us yearns to get on the altar again and complete the finished work of Jesus. When we sin, our natural inclination is to trust in our works rather than His, and so we burn offerings. We sacrifice. We choose to wallow in our guilt and shame, trying to clean ourselves off a little bit so we can feel all is well with God. We tell ourselves that this is for Him, the offerings and all, but it's our insecurity and craving for control instead.
Ah, control- that thorny and deadly fruit that has been enticing us since Eden; it looks delicious, though the inside is spoiled and sour.
So, I represent a radical idea- what if we rest in what Christ has done for us? What if we rest in the assurance that His blood is strong enough to cover our multitude of sin and desire for control?
Christ says that He walked into the presence of God on our behalf, presenting Himself as
The Sacrifice, thus perfecting His faithless bride and removing every speck and blemish from her. We are washed white as snow, and white as wool (Is. 1:18). Because of what Christ paid we can confidently sing alongside David:
"You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night, you have tested me, and you will find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress." -Psalm 17:3
We can have confidence before Him because Christ has testified for us, on our behalf. So whenever there are whispers in your deceitful heart that you have gone too far this time, your blemish too great, look to Him and His sacrifice of old. His blood is still strong enough for you, His grace is large enough to cover you, His love deep enough to wash you new.
Certainly, you are a work in progress, you are being sanctified, but you can rest in the truth that you are being shaped by a Potter with holes in His palms, wounds that healed your own.
What if we trusted that, believed in it, and lived like it, rather than giving in to our feelings of shame?
“When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord GOD, and you became mine. Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil. I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk." - Ezekiel 16:8–10
What a stunning image this is for God's love for His bride, that despite her wretchedness and her future unfaithfulness, He clothed her, loved her, washed her, and she was His. So Christ does for us, cleaning us and anointing us with oil and saying, "you are precious in My eyes, and honored, and I love you" (Is. 43:4).
We cannot deserve that, and we can't add anything to it, it cannot be undone.
It is finished.
Comments