Friday, August 12, 2016

House of God - Hebrews 3:6

Hebrews 3:6    But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.

            Coming from Scotland, I am part of a network of millions of people who belong to the House of Stewart. My family’s own particular branch of that royal clan is Stuart of Bute, which influences most of the South West region of Scotland. Generations ago, my ancestors were tenants on a farm in Kintyre, which Sir Paul McCartney now owns. When the Industrial Revolution began in the 1800s, my folks left the countryside and moved to Glasgow, where they found work as weavers, clay pipe makers, and carters.

            As members of the House of Stewart, my family wears its tartan with pride and theoretically our life-long allegiance is meant to be given to the living monarch of Scotland, presently Queen Elizabeth. In the past, this allegiance laid feudal obligations upon my family to defend the Scottish sovereign to the death and I am sure that some of them did. These days, however, that connection to the House of Stewart is a celebratory one, so whenever I go to Scottish festivals, Highlands Games, or Burns Suppers, I wear both the Royal Stewart and the Stuart of Bute tartans. It’s my way of identifying with the past, but also of proclaiming my Scottish heritage to my peers.

            I like today’s verse from Hebrews because I understand Christ’s loyalty to the House of God. He is faithful to His Heavenly Father and totally obedient to His will. He is proud of what His Father has accomplished and seeks to glorify God through all that Jesus does. And, as we know from the Gospels, Jesus proved His loyalty to God by sacrificing His own life because God demanded it from Him in order to save the world. Christ’s perfect allegiance to God cost Him His life, but it won for us the opportunity to become a privileged part of God’s eternal household, which is something that we could never have accomplished for ourselves.

            So let us rejoice in what Jesus has achieved. We are restored to God’s favor forever and are always welcome in His House.

Questions for personal reflection

What do I know of my own ancestry? How has it shaped my faith?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, thank You for honoring God with Your perfect obedience and total commitment to His will. We know that we have been blessed through Your loyalty to God, so we thank You for the gift of salvation which allows us to be embraced in the House of God. In Your Holy Name, we gratefully pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to ask questions or comment on today’s message, please send him an email to Traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is one of John’s Scottish drawings called “Dunure Sunset.” If you would like to view a larger version, please click on this link: Dunure.

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