Knee Jerk Devotional: February 23, 2021
Hebrews 3:1-11
Passage:
So, my dear Christian friends, companions in following this call to the heights, take a good hard look at Jesus. He's the centerpiece of everything we believe, faithful in everything God gave him to do. Moses was also faithful, but Jesus gets far more honor. A builder is more valuable than a building any day. Every house has a builder, but the Builder behind them all is God. Moses did a good job in God's house, but it was all servant work, getting things ready for what was to come. Christ as Son is in charge of the house.
Now, if we can only keep a firm grip on this bold confidence, we're the house! That's why the Holy Spirit says,
Today, please listen;
don't turn a deaf ear as in "the bitter uprising,"
that time of wilderness testing!
Even though they watched me at work for forty years,
your ancestors refused to let me do it my way;
over and over they tried my patience.
And I was provoked, oh, so provoked!
I said, "They'll never keep their minds on God;
they refuse to walk down my road."
Exasperated, I vowed,
"They'll never get where they're going,
never be able to sit down and rest."
As I process this passage this morning the question that runs through my head is this: “What is the center of my faith?”
The easy and obvious answer is of course, “Jesus.” But, is Jesus really the center of my faith? When I take a deep look and an honest look I think too many times Jesus gets pushed to the periphery of my faith.
I really like how Peterson handles the end of verse one, “He's the centerpiece of everything we believe.”
That’s the question that is running around in my head and heart this morning. Is Jesus really the centerpiece of everything I believe?
For the author of Hebrews, this means that everything in the history of the people of God must be understood through the lens of Jesus. He reinterprets the Jewish texts through the coming of Christ. The way he re-understands them would make most seminary professors blush. The author of Hebrews doesn’t blink. He simply understands Jesus as the center of everything in his faith.
So, here I sit, wondering if Jesus is the centerpiece of everything that I believe.
Again, if I’m honest with myself the answer is likely, “no.”
What else pushes out Jesus as the center of what I believe? For me it is things like ministry philosophy and theology. I see it happen with relation to my family and friends. It also includes things like how people engage in the culture. Really, anything that I’ve ever started a sentence with something like, “You can’t really be a Christian if…”
If I’m going to be really serious about keeping Jesus as the center of everything that I believe then I need to do some work. I need to pay closer attention to my words and thoughts. When I sense these other things rising up and moving Jesus off the center, I need to slow down and remember that it is Jesus who is the center of all I believe.
Arguably the earliest creed or confession was the simple statement, “Jesus is Lord.”
Do I live that? Do I believe that? Is this the absolute central issue for me?
I desperately want this to be true. Yet, it’s so easy to let something else become the central focus of my life.
How about you? Where are you in the process? Is Jesus the centerpiece of everything you believe?
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