Hebrews 10:12
But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.
People that really know me won’t be shocked to hear this, but I’m not a lot like Jesus. I mean, I want to be, and I try to be, and I trust Him daily to help me be, but there’s still a lot of difference between us. This past Saturday, though, I did something that He did, and it felt good. I sat down.
People sit lots of different ways. Some flop, some fall, some rest lightly in a majestic motion. Young people often sit in every way except the way the chair was made to sit in, and their parents typically sit correctly more as an example than the fact that they actually want to, because everyone knows they want to sit like their children but the risk of throwing their backs out keeps them all from trying. So they sit miserably in positions of perfect posture. Okay, back on track now. Sorry for the ADD detour. All I’m saying is that sitting is a great thing, and especially when it means we’re done. For me, sitting meant that I’d crossed the finish line at the end of my first marathon. For Jesus it meant that there was absolutely no reason He’d need to be making anymore sacrifices for our sins. Translation? He was done.
According to the verse before this one, the priests were to stand daily as they performed the sacrifices required to cover the sins of the people, but that was only because they weren’t able to finish the job. There was only so far that they could go. I passed a handful of people during the marathon who sat down for the same reason. Whether medical or mental, they simply had gone as far as they could. But their sitting was different than my sitting, and Jesus’, too. One looked like defeat, but the other represented victory. It is, as any parent of a teenager knows, all about when you sit. Before the lawn is mowed means you’re lazy, but after the yard is mowed means you’re a hard worker and you deserve a Dew.
Our great high priest offered one powerful sacrifice for all sins. He finished a race far more difficult than the marathon I ran last week-end, and he ran it completely. No regrets, no shivers by the side of the road, and because He did, we can, too.
So run all the way. Don’t stop or quit or think it’s impossible, because the same Spirit that raised our Lord from the dead is giving life to us. Are we human? Will we get tired? Did I almost cry at mile 22, and 23, and 24? Okay, let’s not answer that last one. The main point here is that God knows we’re going to get tired. He knows we’re mere mortals, and yet He said that the Spirit would give life to our mortal bodies (Romans 8:11). See, He made sure to include the word mortal, just so we’d know that He knows us.
Keep running. It won’t be long before you sit down, and when you do, it will be a sign of victory.
The race will be over. The work will be done. The lawn will be mowed, and we’ll all be sipping sweet tea.
Ahhhhhhh.
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