A Call To The Remnant

(Heb 5:8-9) Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

How can the perfect Son of God be made perfect? How can the perfect one, the one who never was disobedient, learn obedience? Jesus came down from the glories of heaven and took on flesh. Nothing was lost, He has taken on flesh. And in that flesh He would be called to die, not just to die, but to die the death of the cross. None of this would ever happen in the glorious of heaven. There would be no Gethsemane in the realms of eternity. There would be no rejection there. There would be no pain there. There would be no darkness there. And yet the Father called Him to this world where He would have to face all of these things. His will, being fleshed out by His obedience. Brothers and sisters, we have to flesh out His will for our lives and in doing so we learn to be obedient. In suffering we learn to glorify God quite apart from our circumstances. Our faith and trust in God is alive and it breathes. It is no mere philosophy. It is not an abstract construct. It is not a mere mental assent to abstract truth. Faith in God is tested like gold is refined in the crucible.

The crucible of life is the fire of our circumstances. God is looking for gold. We learn eternal lessons in the fires of life. We are schooled, as students, in the classroom of suffering. Most will reject this, which is why many are called but few are chosen. Its the narrow way of the cross as opposed to the broad highway of the world. For as much as Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves brothers and sisters with this same mindset and when you do, you will walk in the beauty of holiness. And in doing so we no longer live the rest of our lives in the flesh and by the flesh and for the flesh, and for what it lusts after, but rather we shall live our lives according to the will of God. (I Pet 4:1-2) Is there another way? No, No. Its the way of Jesus. It is the way of the cross. Your sufferings that you are going through brothers and sisters at this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory, the gold, that shall be revealed in you. (Rom 8:18) Our afflictions are light and but for a moment in the context of eternity and they add weight to the eternal glory. (2 Cor 4:17) We have been called to suffer for His sake (Phi 1:29) and take up the cross in order to be counted worthy of Jesus (Matt 10:38)

And so brothers and sisters, Jesus is the example for us in His sufferings and we have been called to follow His footsteps. ( 1Pet 2:21) Shall we follow as obedient sons and daughters? Shall we love and forgive those who so terribly mistreat us? Shall we cry out to God to forgive them for they know not what they do? If the Lord Jesus Christ Himself had to walk this path and “learn,’ the things that He learned, surely it must be obvious to you and I that we must walk the same path? We can never suffer as He did. We did not begin perfect. Sin was something common to us all. Yet not the Lord. His suffering was on such a higher plane because of His perfection. And if in that state, the Lord was obedient and learned through the fires of His afflictions, then how about you and me? He is our glorious High Priest who walked through every fire of hell on this earth and therefore is well able to intercede for you before His Fathers throne. Let us walk worthy of our calling, not to live our best lives now but rather to enter into His sufferings and by our obedience to Him we shall become that for which we were empowered to be, a witness to His eternal truth and glory.