The Mystery RevealedSample

Day 22: Lindsay Allen, a Braveheart

Hebrews 5-6

Hebrews 5:8-9 says, “Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.” As I was reading and reflecting on this mind-blowing perspective the writer of Hebrews so boldly lays out; I heard The Lord whisper to me, “Lindsay, if your life does not touch my death first, then what does it really have the potential of amounting to?”

As usual, His words pierced and washed over me, beginning a cascade of thought that erupted into a period of repentance, lamenting and eventually overwhelming joy. But let’s think about this… If the “life” (aka dreams fulfilled, calling, anointing, giftings, destiny, wealth, popularity, influence) I have attained did not come through the death of His cross first, then can it truly be life? In other words, “Is there a way to attain life other than through Him?”

The short answer is no, of course - but when being met with the familiar pain of death as you pick up your cross to follow him daily, this belief is deeply tested. As I reach down to pick up my cross in the midst of waiting, betrayal, disappointment, or the need to vindicate or avenge myself, cheat codes and shortcuts tell me there’s another way. Similar to the voice Jesus encountered in the wilderness, the lie of the enemy says there’s a way to attain life without first tasting death - a way to attain your inheritance in God, to receive the long-awaited promise, or the seemingly much-needed relief from the pain of forgiveness and loving your brother as yourself, minus the pain of dying first. You see, sometimes the enemy’s only tactic is to get us to take another route to the “promised land” or to deceive us into believing that the ultimate prize of life is found somewhere else than in our beloved Jesus and Him alone.

But we know that God has given us a clear path forward, one that is unchanging: The gospel.

The mystery of the gospel of Jesus Christ revealed to us is the only way to real, unfading, abundant life without fail: a sure and steady promise that has stood the test of time and ultimately cannot be touched. The path is simple yet narrow and hard; we have been called by God, crucified with Christ, buried with Christ, raised with Christ, have ascended with Him, been seated with Him in heavenly places, and one day will be judged and rewarded by Him and will marry Him. This is the path of life, and the result of these works is too great and too good to fully comprehend, although one day we will. But the key is death first… then life. David understood there is a clear way to follow God when he wrote, “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand forevermore“ (Psalm 16:11). If we truly desire to inherit life Himself, Jesus, then we will learn obedience the same way He did. We pick up our cross, lay down our lives, and follow our forerunner down the path of His death and suffering so that we may attain His life and His life alone.

Prayer: Father, empower me in my inadequacy and incapability to follow You to the cross. Author fresh faith in my heart to believe in your Son and His work, and fill me with divine grace and the power of Your Holy Spirit to partake in His gospel. Feed me fresh bread today, wash me in Jesus’ blood from the inside out, and cause a spring of living water to overflow within me, bursting forth into eternal life. Lay hold of my will, crush the lies of the enemy attempting to deceive me, and use my weak yes to glorify Your Name. I want to be grafted into Your eternal story. Amen.