Verse: Hebrews 12:25-29
25 See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”
Devotion
Think about the things that seem so important to us, that we spend so much time pursuing, thinking about, and desiring. Money, security, pleasure, cars, houses, clothes, shoes, status, achievement, stuff, stuff, and more stuff. At the moment all of this does feel really important. And it’s not like it’s evil. God has given us the ability and desire to create, to excel, to work hard, and to have fun. These things aren’t evil. But they also aren’t eternal.
This passage is describing how everything will be shaken—namely created things—except the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God cannot, and will never, be shaken. And the author tells us that this is the kingdom that “we are receiving.” This is what God’s plan for us is. Not the pursuit of temporal things, but the act of receiving that which is eternal.
This is why Jesus reprimands people who “run after all these things” and instead invites us to “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.” (Matthew 6, emphasis mine). He reiterates this idea in Luke 12 when he tells a parable of the guy who had so much extra stuff, that he built more storage for it rather than choosing to be generous. Jesus then described how we can’t control when our lives will be taken and so storing up stuff on earth makes no sense at all: “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God” (again, emphasis mine).
The point is not so much the stuff itself, but the priority it has in our lives and in our hearts. Or maybe put another way, the hold it has on our hearts.
You’ve probably heard some preacher say somewhere that we should own our stuff, but make sure it doesn’t own us. Which is it? What is our priority? What is our heart seeking of first priority in our lives? Are we chasing after everything that will eventually be shaken and burned up? Or are we chasing after the Kingdom of God first and above all else in our lives? Is He our goal, our treasure, and our joy?
Again, there are so many things that seem so important to us in the here and now. Today, can we take a step back and ask the Lord to show us where we may be letting some of these temporal, earthly blessings take priority in our lives and hearts over God’s eternal blessings.
Prayer
I pray that you would keep my heart set on you. Help me to not build my life to chase after earthly gain.
Author: Christian Dunn
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