Inviting God Inward As We Look Outward (In Search Of Truth, Hebrews 13:15-16)

(Hebrews 13:15-16, ESV) "Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God."


The author of Hebrews has been detailing what it looks like to more fully engage in a life-long commitment to Jesus and his coming kingdom. In previous verses he stressed the importance of not adopting false views that would lead us away from the undeserved favor that God continually offers. He contrasted the obsolete sacrificial system with the strength and help that now comes from ongoing unity with Jesus.

v.15

This contrast continues as the author reveals that New Covenant believers (those who believe in what Jesus taught and who have trusted him for forgiveness of all their sins) continue to offer sacrifices, which express our love for God and commitment to him. But our sacrifices take a different form now. They are sacrifices "of praise", and are described as "the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name".

As believers, we should be acknowledging the name of God. The Greek word for "name" here refers to everything that comes to mind in association with the name itself. So our "sacrifice of praise" involves us not only mentioning Yahweh by name but acknowledging who he is, what he has done, what he is doing and what he will do in the future. And unlike the Old Covenant sacrifices offered at specific times of the day, our sacrifice of praise should be offered "continually", throughout our day, at any and every opportunity.

I look at that instruction and have two thoughts battling in me. The first is that I fall miserably short of that. I may teach about Yahweh from scripture on a regular basis, but it's uncommon for me to acknowledge him in a typical conversation. These words are another reminder that I need the forgiveness and tireless mercy of Jesus, given my natural tendencies toward keeping him in a box until I'm in some sort of "Official Jesus Time" at church or in solitude or as a part of my work.

The second thought is that I don't want to be some kind of pretentious weirdo or a Ned Flanders that brings up God in a way that feels forced, preachy or artificial. God certainly doesn't want our words to be artificial as we praise him or talk about him. It's recorded more than once that Jesus quotes Isaiah when he said in rebuke "this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me". (Isaiah 29:13, Matthew 15:8, Mark 7:6)

But the solution isn't to say "I want to be authentic, and it just wouldn't be authentic to force myself to bring up God and his character in the average conversation." That's just our attempt at justifying ourselves, trying to make it okay and acceptable to not move more deeply into the kind of life we were made to live as walking, breathing reflections and representatives of Yahweh.

The reality, and the solution to both of these thoughts I'm having is to ask God to change my heart. The transformation of our hearts, the remaking of who we fundamentally are in our most inward, private thoughts, is what God will one day accomplish. (Jeremiah 31:31-34) It's also a work he wants to begin and continue in us right now. (Romans 12:2, 2 Corinthians 3:18)

It won't come naturally, and implicit in the word "sacrifice" is the fact that it will cost us something. So if we find this instruction unnatural to obey, we should be unsurprised and realize that's a humbling indicator that we need to be praying more throughout the day, conversing with God about who he is and what he's doing, and pondering the truths that God has revealed in scripture.

v.16 "Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God."

The Greek word for "neglect" here is the same one used in verse 2 and also means "to forget". We have a tendency, not necessarily out of cold-heartedness, to forget to do the good things that God makes available to us.

It's easy to fall into thinking that living the way God wants us to is mostly about not doing certain things. But we can't be a full participant in God's kingdom plans if all we focus on is abstaining from things. And the Greek word translated as "doing good" here specifically refers to doing good that benefits others. And the author specifically adds "sharing what we have" to that instruction. Then he points out that these are also forms of sacrifice that bring the God of the universe genuine pleasure when we offer them.


SO WHAT'S IN THIS FOR GEEKS?

I almost don't want to present what I see as the application for Geeks in these verses, because it's largely things I've observed and shared from scripture before in recent weeks and months. So I hate to be a broken record.

And yet God knows (and even implies in these verses!) how quickly we forget the perspective he provides us. In fact just after typing that sentence I asked my wife if she wanted to go with me to welcome our new neighbors and I was relieved when she said she wasn't dressed appropriately for that. (And I may not ask her again today.)

I think maybe geeks especially have an inward focus that causes them to neglect thinking of others. Sometimes that causes us to speak without fully considering the impact of our words and tone, and many other times it just keeps us from investing in relationships. But we reveal the kind of kingdom Yahweh is bringing to earth when we engage in conversation and activity for the benefit of others. We reveal the eternal nature of that kingdom and its superior value to the current status quo when we let go of our temporary possessions and readily share them with others.

Instead of using so much of our free moments throughout the day to daydream about or google something entertainment related, we could be considering what Yahweh has been doing around us lately, or what his Spirit is doing or calling us to in that moment. We could be inviting him into our thought lives in an increasingly ongoing way that results in casual mention of him in conversation that happens naturally.

Imagine for a moment what God could bring about if we more often invite him into our inward lives as we simultaneously look outside of ourselves. I'm convinced that the sanctified version of a geek, the version that is uniquely set apart for the purposes of God, is a powerful ambassador for Christ in this world.  As believers in Christ, you and I are already citizens of his kingdom. But let's consider this week how we can be active citizens, and more deeply invite him in as we look outward to the people around us.