Hebrew 4.14-15
“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
One of the most important things I have learned about the Christian faith over the many years of being a follower of Jesus is how incredibly real Christianity is. The Lord is intimately concerned with the everyday realities of the rough and tumble world in which you live.
Jesus cares about the people, processes, and issues in your work. He cares about the goals you are pursuing, the plans you are developing, and the problems you are seeking to solve.
Jesus cares about your home life. The Lord wants to be fully engaged in how you and your family go about life together every day.
Jesus cares about the political, social, and economic issues and challenges we are experiencing in our generation.
The Lord wants to be fully engaged with what you do, how you do it, why you do it, and with whom.
We serve a God who understands. The Lord not only created the physical world, he also took on human form and lived and worked in the world for three decades. He was a carpenter, a builder of houses and furniture. He worked with the tools of his trade: a measuring device, saw, planer, bow drill, and hammer and nails. He fixed broken things. Sometimes he hit his thumb. He got splinters. Sometimes he had to work in difficult, inclement conditions.
Jesus had to compete with other carpenters for business, and then deliver to the satisfaction of his customers. He had to deal with a wide variety of customers: some friendly and appreciative, others grumpy, demanding, and impossible to please. Sometimes people tried to cheat him.
Jesus got up early, worked hard all day, and went to bed late. There were days (probably many days) he went to bed exhausted, knowing that when the sun rose the next morning he would have to get up and go to work again.
Jesus doesn’t call us to some fantasy life in a fantasy world. He calls us to real life in the real world. He calls us to life in a world that he has personally experienced.
As the scripture above says, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
The Lord is calling.
