What He Loves and What He Hates

But to the Son, [he said], Your throne, God, is forever and ever, and the scepter of Your kingdom is a scepter of justice. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness.  Hebrews 1:8 

Angels are around the throne but only a King will take up His seat upon it.  God calls Jesus ‘God’ and refers to the throne as His throne. And there-in lies the difference between cults and Christianity.  Cults cannot accept that Jesus is God and they will twist passages quite artfully.  They’ll even change a word in a text to alter the obvious claims of Jesus’ deity.

God, in this stunning affirmation of His Son’s identity, also characterizes His leadership.  ‘Your scepter is a scepter of justice.’  Is this yet to be proven since Christ has not yet come back on earth to rule as King?   Hardly.  God needs only review Jesus’ thirty-three years here on earth.  He reminisces that His Son loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. His passion for one and disdain for the other was obvious every single moment that He lived. In public and in private.  Not only did He never sin in His actions, He never sinned in His thoughts.  He was tempted by Satan, true, but the idea of sin was repelling.

Is it possible for me to be so close to Jesus that the very idea of sin repels me?   I wonder if such a day will come when, every single time, I will hate the thought of it.  Temptations usually appeal because of what sin offers.  Instant gratification.  That’s the allure. Waiting on God can be so unappealing and deferred hope is the harder choice.  I can grit my teeth and choose the righteous way but the only way I genuinely want what Jesus wants is through a heart change I can’t generate on my own.  I am like the child who was told to sit down.  He replied, “I’ll sit but I’m standing on the inside.”  I am often that child who does the right thing but secretly relishes disobedience.

The bracelet, ‘What would Jesus do?’ causes me to consider His choice in my situation.  But righteousness and lawlessness go beyond behavior.  While doing the right thing impresses some people, God sees everything behind it.  He knows what I really think and what I really want.  He knows how I weigh my love for him against the enjoyment I’ll get by sinning.  For Jesus, it was no contest.  He loved His Father, He loved righteousness, and He was holy – without sin.

Lord, I will be tempted to love myself today more than I love You.  By Your Word and by Your Spirit, make my heart like Yours.  I will be tempted where I’m weak so go ahead of my choices with Your grace.  Amen