Skip to main content

God First, Man Second ; Hebrews 7:18-19

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


It seems like such a simple equation. Create something good + man's involvement = imperfection guaranteed.

Don't get me wrong. It's not that I dislike us humanoids. I'm a fan...really. It's just that we have a tendency to muck things up. It's not really a problem as long as we have the right expectations.

For example, if I come home from work expecting a steak and lobster meal and my 3 children to be dressed formally, my wife would guess there is something drastically wrong with my expectations. For starters, she's never cooked lobster. Ok, that's actually a stupid place to start for starters.

The point is, my expectations would not be anywhere close to the reality I live in. Not even in the same zip code. However, if I come home expecting supper to be somewhere close to being ready and my 3 children to be...clothed, then I probably won't be disappointed. Although clothing isn't always a guarantee. I'm just saying.

The same thing applies to God and the covenant we have. If we expect that the old covenant was good and useful, then we're going to be disappointed. The writer of Hebrews gives us the bottom line when he tells us it was 'weak and useless'.

However, God is not weak and useless. It's really as simple as that. What we can't do, God can. And He did.

Anything that involves man gets a little messed up. But as imperfect as we are, God creates a better hope. This is why we place God first, man second.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Studies on the Go...Genesis

To be honest, I had not heard of Studies On The Go before being offered a review copy by my god friends at Youth Worker. But since I’m always looking out for study ideas, I said yes to this opportunity. Studies On The Go by Laurie Polich-Short has 30 studies. This particular edition is on the book of Genesis. Any book of the Bible can be daunting when you’re trying to interest and impact teenagers. But Genesis increases that difficulty due to the many questions that arise on the topic of creation. On top of that, you have the many stories of questionable characters that we often call heroes of the faith. Each study comes with great questions, not mindless Sunday School questions where every answer is Jesus. They also come with an optional activity to take the lesson a step further and create true impact. Add to that a weekly plan for students to go deeper and you have a winner of a study in one little book. If all the book studies are as well done as this one, I’d ...

What Are You Capable Of?

I fancy myself to be just like Batman...without the money, the cave, the vendetta, the car and the cool belt. Other than that, we're pretty much the same guy. Does it help my case that I have a boy wonder? It's my son, but I'd take him over a dude in green tights any day. I've also imagined myself to be similar to Superman...you know, but without the super strength, speed, or that thing he can do with his eyes. Oh, and I'm also not from another planet. But he was a reporter and I like to write, though that hasn't been proven much by my blog. At least, not compared to what I used to write. The first time I write this post, it sounded like an apology. But that's not really the message I want to convey. Yes, I wish I were posting more. I also wish I had super strength or a cool utility belt, but those things aren't happening right now either. Maybe some day . The truth is I have been keeping busy. I'm not sitting back, sipping lemonade. I've never c...

The Facebook Maybe

Granted, I'm a pastor. I have Type-A tendencies. Ok, my tendencies border on freakish OCD behavior patterns, but... Few things bother me more than the Facebook 'maybe'. I suppose I could go on and on about the grey areas of our society and the refusal of people to accept absolute standards. I could discuss the great need of people to accept that what is wrong for one person is likely wrong for everyone. I should certainly be concerned about mentioning that someone might have sin in their life. But I don't believe the Facebook 'maybe' is quite sin. Perhaps if I were coming up with new sins, I would add this to the list. But alas... Some might think the Facebook 'maybe' did not exist prior to the Internet, but they would be wrong. When I was in high school and asked a girl out on a date, I would normally be told that if they had no other plans, if nobody else called them, if there was nothing good on television and their hair did not need washing, then per...