City Life Starter

Written by Scott Fiddler

The Word

11 Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? 12 For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. 13 For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. 14 For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.

Hebrews 7:11–14 (RSV)

Reflection

Two years ago I bought a car. Instead of trading in my old car, which was sixteen years old, I decided to keep it. My service agent at the dealership performed a “multipoint inspection” on it and told me it would cost more to repair the car than it was worth. “It may be time to cut your losses,” he said. 

That car, though, was the only brand new car I’d ever purchased for myself, and I had an attachment to it. So, I decided to keep it and restore it. I replaced the front bumper (cracked), the headlights (worked but worn), the black slats framing the back window (worn), the gear shift handle (worn), and console (scratched). I had the paint “corrected” and ceramic coated and the wheels refinished. 

I didn’t do this all at once. I fixed the most obvious defects first, and then over the next two years, when the car was in for routine maintenance, I would have one or two other parts repaired or replaced.

The transformation has been remarkable, but I am not done. The goal is to eventually have the car completely restored so it looks like it did when I drove it off the lot in 2006.

The writer of Hebrews says above that the old covenant priests could not make the people of God perfect. Although, through the law and covenant, people could be kept in a relationship with God, neither the priest, the law, or the old covenant could make them perfect. The priest, operating under the old covenant, provided a way to keep the malfunctioning car in the Master’s garage, but the priest could not restore the car.

Jesus, however, is a new and better priest, who is not only able to get the car into the Master’s garage but fully restore the car. That restoration process, called sanctification, starts when one is born again and continues until they die. When they die, what was not restored before death is fully restored after, through glorification.

Application

Jesus chose to restore us when it would have been easier to cut His losses. What a shame though that so many are content with just being born again, content to remain in the Master’s garage without joining with Him in the process of restoration. As the Apostle Paul said, we are to work out our salvation (sanctification) “with fear and trembling because it is God who is at work in you” (Philippians 2:12). 

Prayer

Lord Jesus, help me to always remember that You did not go to the cross only to save me but to change me. Amen.