The Plight of Sisyphus

READ: Hebrews 7:23-28

Ever heard the story of Sisyphus?

According to Greek mythology, Sisyphus committed many crimes against the gods and was condemned to atone for his sins by pushing an enormous boulder up a hill, bearing the weight, enduring the toil, suffering endlessly as he eyed the top he would never reach, for time and again he slipped, the boulder rolled downhill, and Sisyphus was forced to begin again.

How futile and hopeless the whole thing must’ve seemed.

I can relate to Sisyphus. Before I knew Christ, I knew God. I didn’t understand Him fully, but I knew Him well enough to know that He was holy and I was not. So I tried desperately to atone for my sin. Good deeds to erase bad deeds - didn’t remove the guilt. The physical sacrifice of punishing exercise - not enough. Vows to change - constant failure.

The price of sin is much higher. The wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23)

The Jews understood this and accepted God’s gracious offer of substitutional sacrifice. Day after day priests offered the lives of animals as atonement for the sins of the people. And day after day the people sinned again - their boulder rolled right back to the bottom of the hill.

Then came a high priest holy, blameless, and pure! He offered Himself as atonement for our sins and our sins were washed away once and for all!

Thanks be to God our futility ended with Christ Jesus!

Hebrews 7:23-28 Jesus Prays for Us

I love to listen to audio books while driving.  It can make a long trip more fun for me.  When I find a good series I will download them and listen while walking too.  This motivates me to get out there and exercise; in fact I look forward to hearing the next chapter or two and might even walk longer than I normally would.

The current series I am listening to is by Randy Alcorn.  One of the reasons I love his writing is his passion for Heaven.  This series is a fictional story line with characters that keep returning, but with the focus changed in each book.  There is always a death involved and scenes that play out in Heaven.  It is just how I would love to think of Heaven, a real place where we are real people.  The parts I love are the encounters these saints have with Jesus.

This verse reminds me of the way this author portrays Christ.

Hebrews 7:26 (NIV)
 Such a high priest meets our need--one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 

The quiet time spent in the morning is time when I view Jesus as my priest, my counselor, my confidant, my friend.  We talk, we are silent, we share and then I start my day.  These intimate encounters are the perfect way to begin any day.  They are also the only way to end one.  The last few minutes of my waking hours are filled with thoughts of Jesus.  The words I prayed in the a.m. are the words I process in the p.m.  Measuring the value of my day against the purpose God has for me.

Read Hebrews 7:23-28

Listen to Hebrews 7:23-28