The Majesty of Christ

"The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven." Hebrews 1:3

I think it is important for us to recognize the position that Jesus holds. He was not just a holy man that lived a good life. He cannot be compared to the kindest or most compassionate human being, because his own compassion is too great. It was on his back that he bore the sins of the world, and he deserves to be seated at the right hand of God. (We won't get into the confusion of the Trinity here, although you may be wondering how Christ, being God, can sit at the right hand of God.)

It would be very difficult for anyone to live the kind of life that Jesus lived, and I don't know just how much Jesus knew about his fate. Would that have made things any easier? At what point, I wonder, did Jesus know that he had to die on the cross as the sacrifice to heal the sins of the nations? And when Satan offered him a way to have the kingdoms of the world without having to go through the suffering on the cross, what kind of strength must that have taken?

I realize right now that I'm doing a terrible job of describing just how deserving Jesus is of our honor and reverence. How does one go about describing the awesomeness of Christ? Would it help to remember that it is through the divinity that is within Jesus that the world keeps spinning? All things were created through him, and all he did was breathe to create the stars. How can a being with that much power go through the humiliation of the cross just to redeem a fraction of creation?

How frustrating must it have been to be Jesus? To know that you established a law for your people so that they could be blessed, and they used that very law to kill you? "Look, here, he has claimed to be God. According to our law, we must kill him."

It is no small thing that Jesus died on the cross for us, and we must remember that he is in every way deserving of our praise.

On robbing God

I've finally come to the realization that robbing God is never beneficial. God, who is ultimately in control of all things, has given to me money from my job. And what shall I do with it? Spend it on neccesities, and then set aside 15% that I can spend on my own pleasure?
Not only has my own pleasure been cheap and hollow, but God has taken note of it.

"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. "
-Galations 6:7-8

I do not doubt that my hours being cut or unpleasant surpise expenses are divine proddings to open my eyes to sin. And perhaps you, dear reader, are thinking to yourself, "I have not robbed God, and yet troubles overwhelm me!" There is no way for me to know why these things are going on in your own life. All I know is that here and now God is getting my attention.


"Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.
"But you ask, 'How do we rob you?'
"In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
-Malachi 3:6-10

This excerpt from Malachi has at least two sides to it. On the one, it is foolish to rob God. He will get what belongs to him, and whatever we believe to be gain will actually be great loss to us. And yet, the second side is the polar opposite; God downright says , "Test me in this."
If we could just find it within ourselves to give God what is already his, then he will throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that we will not have enough room for it!

I have robbed God. Have you?