June 25 - The Library of Your Life

Read Hebrews 4:12-16

Context: In his letter to Jewish converts, Paul has been explaining how the old laws have been superseded by Christ. He has reminded them that Christ is greater than Moses, their hero, and how they must have faith and must not live a life of sin or they will not enter into God's rest.

Text:
12For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. 14Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens,[a] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. 16Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (NIV)
Footnotes:
Hebrews 4:14 Or gone into heaven
taken from www.biblegateway.com

I can't really comprehend the thought of everything I've done, every thought I've had, being uncovered and laid before God so I can account for it. Almost all of the mistakes and sins were caused by my selfishness, greed, and lack of self control. And many of the good things I've done were spontaneous, with much less intent than I would have liked to say I had.

I read a devotion once that compared the documentation of our lives to a library card catalog (remember those...the long skinny drawers full of little cards?). The devotion painted a picture of judgment day -- we walk into a huge room full of these cabinets. Each drawer has a date and when you open one you see each thought and action, good or bad, has its own card. After flipping through just a few of the cards, you realize that there is no way you can justify your behavior to the God of the Universe. You collapse in fear and shame.

There is a huge fanfare, and God walks in with Jesus at his right side. You tremble, knowing what will come next. Jesus smiles down on you and he reaches over to touch the cabinets. He tells God, "Start with this one." You look at the dates and you realize it was the lowest point of your life...you pray that he starts with any drawer but that one.

God pulls out the drawer and looks through the cards. He says 'hmmm' and 'aha' a few times, then he goes on and looks at a couple more drawers. You wait for the floor to fall away so you will fall through the abyss to the place where you really belong.

All of a sudden God smiles and says 'welcome.' You look up in shock and Jesus reaches out his hand to show you the drawers. They are full of cards, but each one is blank, clean and white as snow.

Where would we be without Christ's mercy and grace?

(sorry, I don't know the reference for the devotion)