In Our Struggle
The Christian Church just finished the lent and Easter season, the climax of our faith. This time is an opportunity to remember our sin and a beautiful celebration of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. But I think sometimes it can feel like an ending. In some ways, it is. In his resurrection Jesus defeated death and brought freedom from the enslavement of sin. This is a moment of victory and an ending to the waiting for the Messiah. And yet, it is not the end. It is the beginning of life.
This new life is not fully present here on earth, but we are still here on earth. The climax has been reached, but the story is not over. We walk this earth still longing for the full newness Christ brings, the newness to come in heaven. We walk this earth and see brokenness abounding. Everywhere we look there is poverty, loss, oppression, mistreatment, death. And when we look inside, we see brokenness too. The impact of loss seeps into every crevice and feels like it is going to tear us apart. Sin still runs rampant in us, and we see pride, anger, envy, fear, the need for control, selfishness, and so much more. That sin no longer separates us from God, because it was paid for on a cross and when God the Father looks at us, he sees Jesus’s perfect record for his righteousness has been credited to us.
And yet, we still struggle. In that struggle I find myself needing to prove to God that I was worth it. In that struggle I feel despair at my inability to last even an hour without sinning. In that struggle I yell at God that it would be easier to follow faithfully if he hadn’t taken away my husband. In that struggle I want to collapse under the weight of single parenting. In that struggle I look to other people for acceptance because in my hidden parts I fear that there is no way God could actually accept me when I am like this. In that struggle loneliness is acute and a relationship with God does not seem like enough. In that struggle hopelessness looms on the horizon and I wonder if my strength will falter and any joy will be lost to cynicism.
But, there is hope, dear friends, because the story is not over. Your story is not over, my story is not over. More importantly, Christ’s story is not over. Jesus is now sitting at the right hand of God, acting as our high priest. In the Old Testament, the high priest acted on behalf of the people. Every year he offered sacrifices to atone for the sins of the people and himself. The wage of sin is death, so the high priest sacrificed animals to pay for the cost of Israel’s sin. He was the only person allowed into the holy of holies, into the presence of God. He represented the people before God and mediated God’s presence to his people. He could come to God and say “do not reject your people, for their sin is paid for.” And now, we don’t need an earthly high priest because we have a heavenly one. Hebrews 4 describes him as:
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.”
Because Jesus was incarnated, because he was born and walked in this broken world, we do not have a high priest looking at God the Father to his left and saying, “I know we have to forgive them, but man, couldn’t they just try a little harder?” Instead, we have a high priest who intimately understands temptation and betrayal and mockery and fear and despair and loss. And it is in this understanding that he is still working on our behalf. He sees your sin and he looks at God the Father to his left and he says “I know her. I know what her life is like. I know how hard it is. My heart breaks for her and I want to wrap her in my arms and let her know that she is understood and loved. I want us to forgive her. And we get to because I already paid her penalty. It is finished.”
And so, in our struggle we are not alone. In our struggle we have a refuge and a friend. In our struggle there is someone pleading our case when we fail time and time again. In our struggle we are known and understood. In our struggle we are found delightful. In our struggle we are loved. In our struggle we can come to the Father boldly and know that we will not be judged or turned away. In our struggle we receive mercy, grace, and help. In our struggle we are met with Jesus, our Savior, King, and High Priest. Come to him, beloved, come.
Yours in Christ,