SOMETHING BETTER!

"God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect."
(Hebrews 11:40).

Devotion 3 of 10

THE BEST FOR THE LAST

In salvation, God has offered His best! He has reserved the "best" for the closing period of time; and that is the time we are blessed to occupy! The word "better" comes from a word meaning "stronger, i.e., better, nobler,--best, better." This word presumes the existence of competitive, but inferior, interests. Scripture provides us a series of divine summonses to "better things." Abraham was called to a "better" land. The ram caught in the thicket was a "better" sacrifice than Isaac. Canaan was a "better" land than Egypt. What Jesus inducted is "better" than what was "given by Moses." The words of Jesus were "better" than the words of the Scribes and Pharisees. The message of the Apostles was "better" than that of the Grecian philosophers.

"Better," however, means "best"; i.e., best by nature, as well as by comparison. We are
required to "choose" what is best. As the "offspring of God," we have a moral obligation to grow, advance, and mature. Only things that are "better" can contribute to spiritual growth and excellence. Spiritual and moral decline is the essence of ungodliness. Those caught in the downward spiral of godlessness are in serious jeopardy. The word of God is clear on this point. "But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved" (Heb 10:38-39, NIV). If this text was taken seriously by the contemporary church, it would produce a spiritual revolution that would shake the foundations of the kingdom of darkness! God is not, and cannot be, pleased with the person in spiritual decline. Such an one is rushing toward condemnation at breakneck speed! If his course is not arrested, he will surely taste of the wrath of
God! Spiritual retrogression leads to perdition, and there are no exceptions! This situation is
accentuated by the existence of "better things," made available and accessible in Jesus Christ.

Required for progress

Progress in the faith requires participation in "better things." Such things are not optional; they are necessary to be pleasing to God. The truth of the matter is this: no one can please God that is not growing in grace and truth. Furthermore, no one can grow in grace and truth apart from involvement with things that are "better." A "great salvation" cannot be advanced by small and inferior means. Such things do not promote aggressiveness and consistency, requirements for finishing the race set before us. The length of the journey, the obstacles between here and glory, and the aggressiveness of our adversary require superior resources!

Our choice has nothing to do with the nature of the thing chosen. Those who neglect
salvation have neglected the "best" in preference for the worst. They have forfeited what is stronger in order to keep the weaker. This may not seem to be the case to them, but nevertheless,
that is the way it is. Throughout the religious world choices like this are being made. They are
made every time a gathering of the saints is forfeited in preference of pleasure, entertainment, or
some lesser matter. The worst is chosen when serving the Lord is abandoned in deference to a job, a family, or supposed friends. Those who make such choices cannot grow in grace and truth. Their preference of the weaker confines them to the realm of weakness. Their choice of the inferior makes them inferior. There are no exceptions to these things.

Contrariwise, those who choose God's "better" have refused the worst. It makes no difference what the ungodly may think about the matter. When individual appropriate the best, their choice impacts directly upon them. They are made better by choosing the best. They are made stronger by choosing the strongest. "Better things" are one of the means appointed by God to make us "better." Those who choose them will find this to be the case. And again, there are no exceptions.

PRAYER POINT: Father, I welcome Your matchless grace which teaches me to say "O" to ungodliness and worldly lusts, and "YES" to righteousness, godliness, and sobriety. In the name of Jesus, I thank You for "better things."

-- TOMORROW: THE VANITY OF THIS WORLD'S WISDOM --