Unprotected

 This week's verses are Hebrews 2:1-4:

Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken through angels proved to be so firm that every violation or disobedience received its just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was first communicated through the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard him, while God confirmed their witness with signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

  The Apostle Paul is talking to us here about how important Jesus' offer of salvation is. We really have been saved from a perilous situation.

The Bible is clear about the penalties for sin. There are severe consequences for our sins that we can't pay on our own. Just to try to pay down the interest on the costs of their unintentional sin, the Israelites needed to maintain a labor force amounting to an entire tribe within a tribe. And they only even had that option because of God's mercy.

Imagine a world where the first mistake you made led to your inevitable suffering and death and eternal damnation. Imagine if every law on the books and those unwritten all were enforced now in our lifetimes with no way to avoid the penalty. Imagine living out the rest of your life, from childhood, knowing you will burn in hell and there's nothing you can do about it.

Luckily, the Bible is also clear in its message that Jesus has come to save us from the consequences of sin. There is a whole chain of verses from the Old Testament, messages from God himself, telling us this was coming. There is an escape from the nightmare scenario Paul describes, where every failure receives its just penalty. Jesus offers us a narrow path out of the fire.

And that is what Paul is getting at here. We need to pay attention to that path, and not neglect the life changing truth of what Jesus offers us. We need to keep our eyes on that opportunity and not just slide back to life as usual.

 If we don't pay attention, we will drift away. Life will consume us. Our eyes will wander off the path and into the weeds. Sometimes we'll find our way back, but what if we don't? We will be alone and unprotected in the world where we must pay the consequences of our sins ourselves. Better to stay on the path!

Think about Jesus and what he has done for us. Find time during your day to pause and be thankful and to check in to tell him so. He is the hero in the greatest rescue mission of all time. Without him we would be lost and in debt for eternity.