Have you noticed that being a Christian isn’t all that easy; especially if you’re really taking it seriously? There’s always something working against you and the nature of things in the world requires that you had really better stay on top of things or you might just find yourself buried under lots and lots of things.

The writer of Hebrews speaks of these things in very pragmatic terms. He speaks of how followers of Jesus, “through practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil” (Heb. 5:14). He speaks of how they must “press on to maturity” (Heb. 5:1). He calls the Believers to “diligence… so that [they] will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Heb. 6:12).

Faith is not passive. Faith is a uniting of our lives with Jesus and then living out what it means to live in His life. The world is not a friend of Jesus or His Church. The world is not a friend to grace. So, when one changes worlds and comes to live in the kingdom of God, it can get messy.

Thank God for honest people, like the writer of Hebrews, who dare to speak the truth into our lives even if that truth is something we might not really want to hear. Because of the nature of spiritual warfare in the world, we don’t have the luxury of denial.

Thankfully, we have a high priest who knows more about all these things than we can know. Thankfully, we have a throne room into which we are invited to come close to the Father and find grace and mercy. Thankfully, we have a community in which we can practice our faith and train our senses to discern good and evil. Thankfully, we can grow up in Christ and live in the victory that He, our great high priest, brings into our lives. We don’t have to be sluggish Christians. Jesus is the “anchor of our soul, a hope both sure and steadfast” (Heb.6:19).

There is a Word at work in the world, according to Hebrews chapter four, which brings the very life and power of God into the lives of people. This Word is called “Living,” and “Active” (vs. 12). It is described as being “sharper than any two-edged sword, and capable of “piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit of both joints and marrow.” This Word, we are told, is capable of judging the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

This is a Word the likes of which most people have never heard before. It speaks into the physical realm but it can also speak into thoughts and intentions of the heart. It cuts so closely that it can divide marrow from joints but also soul from spirit. Talk about Lazer cutting perfection. Lazer cuts pale in comparison to the precise cutting capacity of this two-edged-sword Word of God.

Knowing all these things about the Word of God could scare one to death; just the opposite actually happens. This Word is a constant reminder to God’s people that they have “a great high priest…Jesus the Son of God (vs. 14). This Word is never spoken so as to wipe us out; it is spoken to make us whole. Jesus uses this two-edged-sword Word so as to know us through and through for the purpose of enabling us to “draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (vs. 16).

The truth is we can’t hide anything from God, and that is a good thing. He always operates in the context of the whole truth, and with the whole truth in mind, He comes to us in Jesus to remind us there is a place for us at the throne of grace.

Who would have thought it?

Somebody once said, “What you see is what you get.” I suppose that is true in a way but more truthfully is the statement, “what you see depends upon what is in your heart and how you choose to see things.” Is the cup half full or half empty? Both answers are correct but how we process what we see is another thing all together.

The book of Hebrews calls our vision into question. The world is running wild, it seems. It’s dangerous and a lot of times it doesn’t look like God is in control of much of anything. So the writer says, “We do not yet see all things subjected to him’ (Heb. 2:8). And that is a true statement if ever there were a true statement. However, it is not the only expression of what is. Following the negative statement the writer says, “But we do see Him…Jesus…crowned with glory and honor” (Heb. 2:9).

Putting these two statements together we read, “We do not yet see all things subjected to him. But we do see Him.” To which outlook shall we give ourselves? Both of them are true. Shall we get lost in the dangerous world where things can go so very wrong sometimes? Or shall we get lost in the grace of God who is at work in a crucified and resurrected Lord in the dangerous and seemingly out of control world? What you see depends upon what is in your heart and how you choose to see things.

We see Jesus. He has taken the brokenness of the world upon Himself and of this it is said of Him that He is “crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone” (Heb. 2:9). Jesus has drawn near to us so closely that “He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered” and through this “He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted” (Heb. 2:18).

God is with us in Jesus Christ. What more could we ask? He has spoken grace and mercy into us, and His presence redefines all of life for us.