Heralds Digest

"[Jesus]...though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered." (Hebrews 5:8 NKJV) Son-ship is mostly a reserved status before any father by the consistent forthrightness of a child, rather than through a birthright claim. Being the root of all sins, disobedience has robbed all men from their expected relationship with the heavenly Father. However, without any loss of His son-ship status, Jesus offered to learn obedience in order to demonstrate to all the value of son-ship. While birthright claim is unprotected, son-ship based on total obedience to the will of the Father is the only protected status.

"Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16 NKJV) As holy as the hill of the Lord and as descent in righteousness as the deeds of every expected ascent to His presence, there is always room for mercy. If the connection between heaven and earth is feasible only by merit, who can retain access to the throne of God. Even after redemption and beside mercy, merit withdraws the boldness to seek the Lord in times of weakness and spiritual lethargy. However, weaknesses are made strong with gracious ascent for those who wait upon the Lord.

"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12 NKJV) Just as it was with the passage of the children of Israel, the short way from Egypt land to Canaan's rest is straight-forward. However, the scripture reveals that God preferred the wilderness experience in order to discover the thoughts and intents of the redeemed's hearts, as they travelled from slavery to freedom. Apparently, safety is not determined by the smoothness (or shortness) of the path a pilgrim is made to walk; safety is rather measured by the smoothness of the heart, as God's word walks the pilgrim. Therefore, a safe way is not necessarily a short or smooth way; but it is a consistent trust in the sufficiency of God's word for daily living.

"There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His." (Hebrews 4:9-10 NKJV) Whichever form it appears, rest is sweet, especially after a rigorous toiling experience. A break-even point after significant business investments; success in an examination after several writing attempts; and a visa lottery win to travel abroad after series denials at the embassy, are few examples of rest that deserve celebration. However, all of the rests that this world can offer are incomparable to the final and heavenly rest for the people of God. Even with gracious contentment, all earthly rests are transient. The best offer is the purchase of an acceptable insurance policy for eternal rest , fully paid by the Lord Jesus Christ.

"So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief." (Hebrews 3:19 NKJV) It is often said that the end of a journey is better than the beginning thereof. Those who are mindful of the finishing line would not be distracted by the crookedness in the running tracks. Like many of the children of Israel who fell in wilderness after a miraculous escape from Egypt, the welfare of the body remains the major distraction to the wellness of the soul. Until the soul is determined to seek its final rest in the wilderness, the comfort of the body dictates the pace of every pilgrim's progress. No matter how long the end may appear, confidence in the promised rest at the last mile of the race can keep the gaze above the present distractions.

"Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God." (Hebrews 3:12 NKJV) The statement of faithfulness in every relationship is unreliable until it is subject to the testament of trials and tribulation. Likewise, faithfulness to the invisible God cannot be based on the sufficiency of visible goodness. Unfortunately, apparent lack of physical prosperity often queries the existence of God - the Jehovah Jireh . While unbelief is natural to unbelievers, it is an act of great sin for believers to doubt the potency of the living God in times of difficulties. How else do we prove the existence of God in the absence of troubles? Living faith believes in God who make things, not in things which make God.

"But Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end." (Hebrews 3:6 NKJV) Every project has both the start date and a proposed completion date. The confidence that drives project implementation often depend on the resources available to the project manager. For many who believe in life after death though, life project ends in the eternity with either God in heaven or Satan in hell. For a reliable preparation as house project-in-progress, neither self-confidence nor saint-confidence (i.e., confidence in a faithful prophet, like Moses) is sustainable. Only the believer's confidence in the Saviour's grace is sufficient. While self or saint confidence is unreliable, a reliable confidence is built on the perfect gift from the Father in His only begotten Son.