Who is Jesus?

I started reading through Hebrews today and I was mesmerized by the opening chapters of the book. The author of the book, who never identifies himself, writes about who Jesus is. As I began to chew on the verses, it blew my mind. He describes Jesus as "the radiance of the glory of God." That in and of itself is mind boggling, but he doesn't stop there. He writes that Jesus, is "the exact imprint of his [God's] nature" and that "he upholds the universe by the word of his power." He is higher than all others, even the angels. The Bible tells that his power will last forever. Everything else will fade away, but his word and his kingdom will never end. That is huge!!

Chapter 1 sets up chapter 2. Having said all of this about who Jesus is, the author brings his point home in the opening verses of chapter 2. Since Jesus is who he is, we need to listen to and place what he says above all else, especially when it comes to salvation. The teachings of Jesus transcends all other teaching. (You may be thinking, as I was when I read this, that this devalues the Old Testament and makes it irrelevant. This couldn't be farther from the truth. In verse two, the author lays it out for us. He tells us the the law is very reliable. What we can take from the Old Testament is that there is a law for us to follow and that we alone can't do it. We are not physically capable of keeping the Mosaic law and as a result, we must be punished for that. No sin will go unpunished. The punishment is eternal death; separation from God. We need a savior. Jesus is our savior.)

Since Jesus is superior to everything, we need to pay close attention to his instruction. Mediate on his words. Put them into action. Drifting away from the words of Christ is extremely dangerous.

Having said all of that, I have to ask myself a question. Do I take Christ, and the salvation he gives, for granted? Do I find my self drifting away from the teachings of Christ? I think I can honestly say yes to that. I find myself on many occasions saying, "Step aside Jesus, let me do this and I will do your thing next." I want to do my own thing. I get selfish. It seems as if I just go through the motions. During these spells, my time with God dwindles. I don't spend time in his word. I don't spend time in prayer. My life pays for it too.

When I am not grounded in the word and in constant contact with God, it has a profound impact on me. Sin creeps in and begins to control me. My attitude changes. My thoughts change. I lose focus. Greed slips in. I start to act on my desires and my needs. God's desires begin to take a backseat to mine. This carries on for a little while, until one day, God gets my attention. It is as if he asks, "Are you finished? Are you ready to do this my way now? In those times, I feel like I am in uncharted waters with no map and no compass. Then I realize that I do have a Savior and his name is Jesus. There he is waiting patiently for me to come back.

Aren't you glad that Jesus is who he says he is? Aren't you glad he loves us despite our behavior towards him? Aren't you thankful for the cross?