For he has come to deserve greater glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house deserves greater honor than the house itself! For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. – Hebrews 3:3-4
I was struck by this passage from the first verse of chapter 3. It says “Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, partners in a heavenly calling, take note of Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.” The author of Hebrews called the recipients of this letter “holy.” Why not just call them brothers and sisters, why call them holy?
Holy means to be “set apart.” In order words, the message the author was trying to remind them of was that they were not just people living life the way they wanted without a clue of who they were. The author wanted to remind them of who they were: holy, set apart for and to God.
I am reminded how much God loves us for us to be set apart. But for what are we set apart? Verse 1 tells us we are partners in the heavenly calling of spreading Jesus everywhere we go, telling people about Jesus and preparing them for heaven. The verse continues saying, “take note of Jesus, the apostle and high priest who we confess.” This is incredible!
We are set apart by God to tell others about Jesus and the work He did on the cross by taking note of Jesus, not social media, not television or entertainment that does not profit eternity. We are set apart to take note of Jesus. As we take note of Him we are able to live our lives like He wants us to live and thereby be truly set apart. If we confess Jesus then we have to always take note of how He lived here on earth, of His words, of spending time with Him in prayer, of reading His Word and serving His kingdom. We have to take note of Him as partners in the heavenly calling to walk as He did.
WHO ARE YOU TAKING NOTE OF?
Verse 2 tells us one of the ways to take note of Christ.
Jesus was faithful to God who appointed Him to come to earth live and die for our sins. Jesus walked as His father wanted Him to, He lived as His father wanted Him to, He sacrificed, He loved and still loves, He cared and still cares. Jesus went to the cross like a sheep led to slaughter, He did not argue or resist, instead He prayed for us, and silently He paid the price. Jesus was faithful. I asked myself, “Ebos, am I faithful to the work and lives God has placed in my hands? Am I faithful to God’s plans and purposes for my life? Or do I make excuses and run away?” Today, beloved, permit me to ask you, are you faithful?
The Scriptures are filled with men and women who were faithful to God even to the point of death. This pandemic we are experiencing in 2020 is ravaging everywhere and I see this period as a sieve through which God is testing our hearts and showing us who we are.
Beloved, since we confess Christ, we are holy, set apart for and to God. Christ is the one who should be our example and role model, the one we take note of and copy. His word should be our standard, we should be faithful to Him. God who has built each and everyone of us for His glory. He deserves far more honor and say in our lives than anyone else, than any system, than any government or institution.
Father we stand in awe of how much You love us and have called us to be set apart for Your glory. Please forgive us in every unfaithfulness. Cleanse our hearts, turn our focus to Jesus, teach us faithfulness, remind us of Yourself and the fact that You created us for Your glory and pleasure. Jesus we love You. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
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