Every now and then, I come across a Bible verse that stops me in my tracks and makes me smile. I think, Man, I wish more people knew this verse existed!
I've been reading the book of Hebrews this week, and I stumbled upon one of these verses:
The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God. (Hebrews 7:18-19, NIV)
We don't know who wrote the letter of Hebrews, but it does a great job of connecting the Old Testament to Jesus. Personally, I like to think it was a collaboration between Peter, Paul, and James, kind of like how members of different bands get together to form supergroups. (Yes, I just compared Hebrews to the Traveling Wilburys...)
In chapter 7, our mystery writer talks about the inadequacies of priests making sacrifices for sin, which was the OG (or O.T.) way of doing things. It's not that it was a "bad" system (it worked for that period of time), but it was incomplete. It was a never-ending hamster wheel of sin, sacrifice, sin, sacrifice, etc. And it did nothing to address the root cause of our messiness.
I love the line, "the law made nothing perfect." We all know this is true. The law (not just God's law, but any law—even our own personal law to wake up at 6 am and exercise for an hour) may help to guide our behavior. But it doesn't give us life.
The law makes nothing perfect, and so it always leaves more for us to do. The problem is, we can always be a little bit kinder, a little bit gentler, and a little bit patient-ER. :) There's always one more thing we can check off our to-do list.
And when we feel that pressure, we start trying to figure out what the minimum requirement is to be perfect. Imagine if I woke up every day and told my wife, "Alright now, please just tell me, what's the minimum I have to do today to love you???" (Jesus was asked this very question once.) Love becomes a burden because the law is a burden.
But there is a better hope! A few verses later, the writer talks about how Jesus is our true priest. We can finally get off the never-ending wheel of trying to be good enough.
Because of this oath, Jesus is the one who guarantees this better covenant with God... Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. (Hebrews 7:22,25, NLT)
When our hope is in Jesus, we can lean on his love to draw us close to God rather than trying to earn God's love. And we can allow that love to spill over to all the people in our lives. We are no longer burdened by the law, but free to love.
And that is something to smile about!
Questions to Ponder:
In what way has the law (any kind of law, even the rules you create for yourself) put pressure on you to be perfect? Have you ever been frustrated that you weren't a little bit __________-ER?
How is leaning into Jesus' love a better hope than trying to rely on yourself?
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