Reading Reflection:

An Exposition of Hebrews, Arthur W. Pink (Baker, 20^th printing, 2004) The book of Hebrews is chocked full of Old Testament passages interpreted in light of Christ’s life, death, resurrection, and ascension. In Hebrews 2:3, we see a quote from Psalm 18:2. This excerpt from Pink has been one that I have been meditating over:

“I will put my trust in Him.” This perfection of our Lord is not sufficiently pondered by us. The life which Jesus Christ lived here for thirty-three years was a life of faith. That is the meaning of that little-understood word in Heb. 12:2: “looking off unto Jesus (His name, as Man), the Author (Greek, same as “Captain” in 2:10) and Perfecter of faith.” If these words be carefully weighed in light of their context, their meaning is plain. In Heb. 11 we have illustrated from O.T. saints, various aspects of the life of faith, but in Jesus we see every aspect of it perfectly exemplified. As our Captain or Leader, He has gone before His soldiers, setting before them an inspiring example. The path we are called on to tread, is the same He trod. The race we are bidden to run, is the same He ran. And we are to walk and run as He did, by faith. “I will put my trust in Him.” This was ever the expression of His heart…How blessed to know that when we are called on to walk by faith, to submit ourselves unto and live in dependency on God, to look away from the mists of time to the coming inheritance, that Another has trod the same path, that in putting forth His sheep, the Good Shepherd went before them (John 10:4), that He bids us to do nothing but what He Himself has first done. “I will put my trust in Him.” This is still true of the Man Christ Jesus. In Rev. 1:9 we read of “the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ”: that is the patience of faith, cf. Heb. 11:13. Heb. 10:12, 13 interprets: “But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till His enemies be made His footstool.” That is the expectation of faith, awaiting the fulfillment of God’s promise. Ah, dear reader, fellowship with Christ is no mystical thing, it is intensely practical; fellowship with Christ means, first of all, walking by faith” (125-126).

This really illustrates for me the way to walk by faith: having our future reality be the lens by which we see the present. So often my thinking and perspective is too narrow, like a high school kid who can’t see past Friday night. Sometimes the immediate future plays tricks on us, like this time is all there is. All too often, I lose sight of my future inheritance. But when I get discouraged in my failures, I can be confident in my union with the One who perfectly walked by faith. I will put my trust in His work, which secures my future reality of eternity with God. I don’t have to die for the world’s sins as He did. But because He did, I can take up my cross with the expectation of faith, awaiting the fulfillment of God’s promise.   **If any of my Bible study ladies are reading, this is a great start for question #5, three weeks from now :)