Suffering as Grace

A few days ago I mentioned I am in Hebrews, still working through Jeremiah but have added Hebrews.  I have shared here before that one of the main things you want to look for in Bible study is repetition.  I look for that as I read through the book.  I have noticed several terms and concepts in Hebrews that are repeated throughout the book.  One of which is suffering.  Look at Hebrews 2:9; 2:10, 18; 5:8; 9:26; 10:32; 13:12.

Concentrate on a minute on the first passage, Hebrews 2:9.  Note that the last phrase is. “…by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.”

We, well I do not think about the magnitude of God’s grace as it applies to Christ’s death.  As a people we are under a sentence of death for our condition of sin.  The unimaginable reality is that God accepts the death of His son as my death, so that the death sentence on my head is not carried out.  The mind blowing, unimaginable reality is that God accepts Christ’s death for all believers.  There is nothing before that acceptance that indicates the magnitude of that act of grace.  It does not say that one can substitute for another.  There are types but the magnitude of God’s acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice for us makes those types much less than pale examples.

This would be a good thing to memorialise on a day like today.