I know I’ve read this verse before, but today it just seemed to leap off the page…
Both the One who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.(Hebrews 2:11)
Did you catch that word BOTH? This places me in the same category as God Himself!
I am the one made holy because Jesus died in my place. Jesus paid the price for the forgiveness of my sins, and for the righteousness of God to be given to me!
Then notice it doesn’t say we are being made holy, but madeholy. It is finished.
Now Jesus is pleased to call us His brothers and sisters!
ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!
When I read something like this, an important question comes to mind: How should I now live?
Confidently—because I am accepted into God’s family.
Humbly—because I didn’t pay the price, but Jesus paid it on my behalf.
Thankfully—because there is no greater gift I could ever receive.
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Does success come from hard work, or does it have another origin? We can certainly manufacture success by doing some public relations, some spin, some creative promotion. And from the outside, it can look very successful. Someone may even do such a good job manufacturing their success that they begin to believe their own press releases.
But humanly manufactured success rarely lasts.
Consider the case of a man named Adonijah. He was the heir-apparent in Israel. As the oldest living son of the famed King David, Adonijah was the odds-on favorite to be the next king. And so Adonijah began to manufacture a successful transfer of power for himself. He invited all the right people and ignored those who he knew wouldn’t go along with his plan. He set up everything just the way a prince ascending the throne should have it. His followers joined him for a party and began to raise their glasses in a toast: Long live King Adonijah!
Except God—and King David—had other plans. Just as God directed, David had his son Solomon anointed king. When the few followers that were toasting Adonijah heard this, they all bailed on him and ran away. Even Adonijah recognized that something else can trump manufactured success. Here’s what he said:
“As you know, the kingdom was mine. All Israel looked to me as their king. But things changed, and the kingdom has gone to my brother; for it has come to him from the LORD.” (1 Kings 2:15)
“Success has come to him from the Lord.” God’s success always trumps humanly manufactured success.
Manufactured success leads to pride (the kingdom was mine). And pride over-exaggerates our self-worth and obscures reality (all Israel looked to me as their king). God’s success comes to the humble who recognize His lordship and their place in His Kingdom. God’s success lasts.
Although Adonijah eventually recognized this, he didn’t learn from it. In the next scene, he is again trying to manufacture a way to ascend to the throne. And this time he not only loses his position but his life as well.
Here’s what Jesus says: For whoever exalts himself will be humbled [manufactured success], and whoever humbles himself will be exalted [God’s success].
I know I’ve read this verse before, but today it just seemed to leap off the page…
Craig T. Owens 