Moving Forward...

  There is an old saying that if you aren't moving forward you are going backwards.  I believe this sums of the writer of Hebrews admonition to his hearers in the end of chapter 5 and the beginning of chapter 6.  Just like in the natural world there is an expectation that children will grow.  When you take kids to the doctors they are weighed and measured to ensure that they are growing at the appropriate rate.  They are compared with others kids their age to see where they fall percentage wise.  Those tests are to see if something is wrong and to provide a plan of action has how to get the child on track with where they should be.  

    II Peter 1:2-11 provides us with a good test to see if we are growing spiritually and where we might be lacking.  Are there any other means that you can think of that can help us see what where we need to grow?

* Posted for Jon

Priest in the Garden

I was reading a commentary that points out that the two qualifications of a high priest were "human sympathy and divine appointment." It goes on to point out that verses 7 and 8 take us straight to the Garden of Gethsemane, arguably one of Jesus' most vulnerable human moments.

The fact that this snapshot from Jesus' life is what is chosen to portray his humanity caught my attention. I think often when I think of Jesus sympathizing with me, somehow I jump to his temptation in the desert, or sometimes I just drift into vague generalizations and think, "Yeah, Jesus got hungry. His feet got dirty in sandals." While these general thoughts make me grateful that Jesus was willing to become a man to save me, I usually come away not particularly impacted by the fact that he sympathizes with me.

But, to be reminded of the garden....

That reminds me that Jesus knows what it's like to sob and beg and still not get his preferred answer. He knows what it's like to bow to the will of the Father even when it's going to be a long journey of pain until the brighter side is reached. When I stop to think about Jesus in the garden, then the fact that he is able to sympathize with me as my high priest begins to sink in.

How about you? When you think of Jesus as a high priest, does that resonate, or is it hard to wrap your mind around? Are there any other passages in Scripture where you see Jesus experiencing the frailty of humanity in a way that reassures you that he does understand what we go through?