Hebrews 1

"He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his
nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After
making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the
Majesty on high,4 having become as much superior to angels as the name
he has inherited is more excellent than theirs." -- Hebrews 1:3-4

I remember being nervous for every job I've ever applied for. I hate
applying for jobs. I always feel under-qualified. Even when I applied
for a job at Movie Gallery in college -- a job with only two
prerequisites: the ability to alphabetize and the ability to wear a
clean shirt to work.

Hebrews 1 reminds me of that. Not that this is Jesus's resume, but
it's his reference letter. To me, it was like the writer of Hebrews is
saying, "OK. you want to know why you should worship and follow Jesus?
OK. Let him have a job interview. Before I give you his credentials,
let me give you his reference letter. He's got one really good
reference letter from a fairly reliable source -- God."

So Hebrews 1 basically says, "Here's why I think you should let Jesus
be your savior..."

"He's my son. I'm his father. [verse5] He takes after good stock."

"Angels (those things that scare the pee out of you when you see
them?) should worship him. [verse6]"

"He's God. He's everlasting. And he rules a kingdom. [verse8]"

"He loves righteousness. He hates wickedness. I've anointed him more
than anybody and done it gladly. [verse9]"

"You know this floating rock you live on? You like the trees and the
air and the food and water? Yeah, he helped me build all this.
[verse10]"

"Billions of years after this rock has worn out and the Energizer
Bunny has croaked, Jesus will still be going strong without a gray
hair on his head. [verse11]"

"When your grandson's grandson's grandson's grandkids are farting
around and making the same mistakes you did, Jesus will still be alive
and well and he'll be offering them the same forgiveness and grace
that he offers you. He won't retire at 65. [verse12]"

"He's my right-hand man. We hang out. We're tight. And anybody that
doesn't like him? Yeah, I make them kneel on their hands and knees so
he can rest his feet on their back for all eternity? Your fingers
hurt? Well your back's gonna hurt cuz you just pulled ottoman duty.
[verse 13]"

What other options are there? Jesus is obviously the most qualified.
Sure, a reference letter is always necessary, but it's usually nice.
Especially if the guy writing the letter has the ability to smite me
with bodily sores.

I don't pay enough attention to the reference letter. Each day I have
to put Jesus through the interview process. Instead of giving him the
job that's rightfully his and letting him rule over me, I keep
throwing him through the battery of questions: "Are you really good,
Jesus? Do you really want to help me, Jesus? Are you really trying to
give me life, Jesus? What if you screw up, Jesus? What if what you try
to give me hurts, Jesus? What if letting you be in charge means I
don't get what I want, Jesus?"

I don't take God's word seriously when he says repeatedly, clearly,
emphatically, pleading with me to let his Son -- the only true Savior
-- have the job of King/brother/best friend in my life.