No High Priest ever sits down; mostly because his work is never done. There is a constant need for sacrifice, because of the continual presence of sin. Yet Jesus sat down. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down. Mission accomplished. Work done. It is finished.
Jesus’ sacrifice on the
cross was enough; nothing else needed to be added. But the question is: Do we let it be enough? Do we allow his sacrifice be enough for
us? And do we let it be enough for those
in our lives? Or do we constantly feel
the need to add to it?
It seems like we are always
tempted to try and add something. In addition
to his sacrifice, we somehow feel the need to add our own efforts, in order to
work our way back into his good graces.
The problem is that we are already there. All we need to do is repent—to turn back to
Jesus—and let his finished work be enough. To allow his work on the cross to be complete, and to receive it and rest
in it. To also sit down, if you
will.
I guess we do this because
that is typically how human relationships work.
We might apologize to someone for how we have hurt them or let them
down, and they might even offer us their forgiveness, but we are not naïve enough
to believe that it ends there. We are
also going to have to work our way back into their good graces. Which is a funny expression, because grace is
not something that can be worked back into.
But we—subtly, and not so subtly— demand it of each other. We know the truth. We know that we aren’t really going to be
forgiven until we have earned it. And even
if we are ever truly forgiven, it will likely never be forgotten.
Yet God tells us a completely
different story. He tells us that he
will remember our sins no more. (Jer. 31:34, Heb. 8:12, and Heb. 10:17) There is no need to work our way back into
his good graces for we—because of the finished work of Christ—are already
there. There is nothing else to add. We can rest in the completed work of Christ. He is enough.
So let me ask you a question. Is God’s completed work on the cross enough for you? Is it really done? Or are you constantly trying to add to
it? Are you constantly trying to work or
earn your way back to him? And is the
completed work of Christ enough for those in your life who constantly disappoint
you and let you down? What would it look
like in those relationships if you chose to do what God does—to say it is
finished, the work is done? How
different would our lives and relationships be?
Lord Jesus, thank you that you sat down. Thank you that your purification of us is
done. Help us to rest in your completed
work on the cross, and to sit down ourselves. Amen.
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