“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe”. (Hebrews Chapter 1 verses 1 and 2).

Sometimes it’s hard to understand or appreciate our role and purpose in such a big world. We seem such a tiny part of all that there is and this is true. You can win a tournament one week, or be successful in an area of our life but unless our success continues, people can forget about us quite quickly. I get a real feeling of how small I am in the world when I fly in an aeroplane and look down on the world.

The opposite though is the truth according to the message of Jesus, for he has come to help us understand our place in life.

Our writer wants to clearly identify that with God, there is a clear purpose for life and it centres on his son Jesus Christ.  Prior to Jesus in the Old Testament of our bibles, God had spoken to our world through the writings of the Prophets and indeed in many powerful and different ways. Some of those different ways include visions, dreams, even through animals and stories. They were preparing us for a greater moment that came when Jesus entered our world.

We can believe or reject the witness to Jesus, but we should never be confused about the place, that the bible and the witness of God give to Jesus. He is at the centre of this world and thus our life, the one through whom the world was made and the one who now rules over it.  

Jesus is the one through whom God has spoken his final and clear message to us. There is no case according to the bible for further revelation as you find in the Mormon church with the  revelations of Joseph Smith, new age religion where we become the centre of revelation, or Islam with the Koran.

Jesus has been appointed the heir of all things, so to suggest that some other form of revelation that supersedes this is clearly an error. This is not to say that we should disrespect or ridicule other points of view as we seek to live with others where we believe in the freedom of all living their convictions.

The positive part of this great truth concerning Jesus we are talking about is that we can find our place and purpose in God’s scheme of things by recognising and accepting who Jesus is. By honouring Jesus as the heir of life, we in fact find life for our self. Through Jesus we discover some quite amazing things about ourselves.

We find that God so loved the world that he gave his son for us. We find that we are loved by God, that we were created in his image and likeness and that life has meaning and purpose. To believe in Jesus is to accept his unique role in the world and to submit ourselves to his rule. As we go through this great book, our author will give us good reasons for such a submission as we discover our place under the rule of Jesus.

Prayer

Gracious God, we thank you for the way that Jesus has made your way known to us in as full and complete way as possible. Help us to give this honour to Jesus in our lives and not to lose our way by looking elsewhere. Thank you that through Jesus we can understand our place in the world, and come to see that we are valued and not small. Amen.