A Flash Flood and the Road to God
Posted by Mark Mong on September 13, 2023
Our reflection opens with Hebrews 10:19-25, a passage that invites believers to draw near to God with confidence because of what Jesus has done.
When the Water Rose
Last summer, heavy rain fell in a short span and flooded the road leading to our home. The road dips where storm drains channel water toward the lake, and the system can only handle so much flow per minute. That day the drains could not keep pace, and water backed up until it covered the road with roughly a foot of standing water.
To get home, we would have had to drive through that flood. I had no confidence the car could make it; it might stall, or the moving water might sweep us away, and I could not judge how deep it truly was. So we waited on the road for about an hour until the water receded, then drove through with what courage we could muster and reached home safely.
A Road We Can Always Trust
The writer of Hebrews describes a road his congregation could always trust, no matter how much water covered it: we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, through the new and living way he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh.
Our road home was blocked by water, but the road to the sanctuary, the house of God, is open and permanent. We had no reason to rely on the blocked road; Christians have every reason to rely on the road Jesus paves and cares for, because it was paved with his own blood from his own body. If he makes and maintains the road, every believer can travel it with confidence, and no barrier can flood or erode it.
The Hitch Is in the Approach
Yet while we can rely on the road to God because Jesus paves and maintains it, we must still make the journey and go in: let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Through baptism, the inner soul and outer body are washed and forgiven, and then we are able to approach the holy God. Sins are forgiven and we can go in.
But the hitch always lies in the approach. Quite simply, do we go in at all? We can rely on the road, the door is open, our sins are forgiven, but do we take the necessary steps to walk upon it and enter? Do we trust that the road will hold, the door will stay open, and we are forgiven? Do we approach, or do we retreat? Faith says, let us approach, and never, let us go back.
Hold Fast to Hope
While we can rely on the road to God because Jesus paves and maintains it, we must still hold fast to the hope that while we are on the way, we are not done journeying yet: let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful.
To hope is to anticipate the fulfillment of God's promises while not yet possessing them, to be on the way but not finished. We are still travelling as a community on the road Jesus paves and maintains, and until we are finished we must keep travelling, holding fast to hope and never wavering.
Here is the second hitch: the road at times becomes challenging and overwhelming, and the despair of the journey urges us to turn back instead of pushing through. Do we have hope and keep going, or do we retreat? Hope says, let us hold fast, and never, let us quit.
Provoke One Another to Love
While we can rely on the road to God because Jesus paves and maintains it, we must learn what it means to truly walk in the way of Jesus Christ: let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds.
To provoke is like poking a hornet's nest with a stick and stirring the hornets to anger. On the way of Jesus Christ we are to provoke one another, not to anger and offense, but to stir each other up to love and good deeds. The love here is the self-giving love of God, and the good deeds stand in contrast to the evil deeds from which we are cleansed. To walk in the way of Jesus Christ is to encourage one another toward ever greater love and goodness instead of judgment and insult.
Do we provoke each other to greater love and good deeds, or do we make the journey miserable for everyone around us? Love says, let us provoke each other to sacrifice and goodness, and never, let us hurt and hate each other.
Do Not Neglect Gathering
While we can rely on the road to God because Jesus paves and maintains it, we must remember that we can only encourage each other if we gather with each other: not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another.
The key word here is habit. Circumstances will sometimes prevent us from gathering to pray, study, worship, and serve, but the hitch comes when staying away from church becomes a habit rather than an exception. You cannot be encouraged, and you cannot give encouragement, if you avoid the community. For the Hebrews, people began to drift away into other things because the road became challenging. Our society offers far more distractions than theirs did, which makes it all the more important to keep church a priority. Encouragement says, let us meet, and never, I have other things to do.
Let's Get Moving
Friends, the road to God has been paved and maintained by Jesus our great High Priest in his own flesh and blood. That means we can have confidence to walk and journey upon it. But at some point you need to come in by faith and never retreat. At some point you need to hold fast to your hope that you will finish and never quit. At some point you need to provoke love and goodness instead of hate and wickedness. And at no point should neglecting to gather become a habit. If we truly follow in the way of Jesus Christ, we will walk in faith, hope, and love, and we will always do so together. Now, let's get moving. Amen.