A couple of days ago I said to my husband, "I think this is all I do....clean, clean, clean....it never stops....." I wasn't really complaining, I was just stating a fact. I do a lot of cleaning, all day, every day. I never sit down. I also ask my kids to do a lot of cleaning and they do it, all day, every day. No big deal, doesn't seem profound....until yesterday.
We went to church and I listened to a verse that I had never heard or paid attention to in Hebrews 10. You'll read it and you'll wonder, "What in the world does this have to do with cleaning?"
Verse 11, and 12 says, "And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until His enemies should be a footstool for His feet."
The pastor described how in the Old Testament the priests had to constantly offer sacrifices, but ultimately it never took away their sins. The law pointed them to their need for a Saviour, though they did not necessarily know that. We see it now. When Christ came, they no longer needed to make those sacrifices as He was enough. The pastor then pointed something out that I had never seen before - the priests "stand daily", but when Christ died "he sat down". Why? There was no more need to stand, the work was done. That phrase "he sat down" is repeated several times.
I went home and meditated on that verse all that day and then into the next. Then it hit me. I am like one of the priests. I "stand daily" at my "service". I am "offering repeatedly the SAME sacrifices" every single day. I do the same tasks over and over. I never sit down. I stand. If I do sit down, it is usually at the end of the day when my task is complete, but really, they are never complete. They will start up again the next day. When will my work on earth be done? Until Christ returns, I must continue to stand, in all aspects of my life.
I am not offering sacrifices the way the priests of the Old Testament did, thinking it will take away my sins. I offer my sacrifices as a way of showing thanks for what Christ has done for me. I love the fact that the Bible even uses the word "same sacrifices" and then even says, "offering repeatedly". Isn't that exactly what I am doing when I wash dishes, do laundry, cook a meal, sweep a floor? It is the same sacrifice, offered repeatedly, every single day. Literally each task or sacrifice that I offer requires me to stand. I cannot sit down and sweep, though I have tried! I can't cook sitting down or vacuum sitting down or wash the dishes sitting down. Nope, I must stand. My feet get so tired at the end of the day. There's that heavenly longing in us that says, "How long?"
My daughter had gone on a hike on Sunday, then she was on her feet the whole day before that, then I was requiring her to help with the housecleaning....she complained, "But my feet hurt!" What a perfect segue into my little mini-devotion on standing! I explained to the kids that we can offer our same daily sacrifices, all of which require standing, as a way of showing our thanks for what Christ has done. We will not get a chance to sit until He returns, so until He does, we press on. It was perfect timing for my older children who are on week 2 of haying. Talking about doing a task that requires standing, not to mention every single muscle group you never knew existed before! At the end of a day, every haying child and husband feels like their feet are about to fall off. All they want to do is sit, but they can't, not until the task is complete.
It was such a good picture for me. I understand the priests of the Old Testament a bit more now. I feel like I have a better understanding of what they did, the daily sacrifices they offered. It always pointed to a longing the had within them, the need for a Saviour. They must have known deep down, this isn't enough. The sacrifices I now offer are much the same. I love my life and I have many eternal moments throughout my days, yet there is this constant undertone within me, a longing, a desire for things of heaven. This side of heaven, no matter how much I clean, or try to create a "perfect" home, or perfect kids, or whatever it is, it is impossible. Yet that desire and lack of perfection points to heaven and Christ's return.
Knowing this, until Christ returns, it is my "priestly duty" to continue to offer my "same sacrifices"......"offering repeatedly". I must stand daily knowing that there will come a day when I can sit. The Bible even says Christ was waiting "from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet." He gets a Lazyboy made out of His enemies! So I must wait, too, for my footstool. In the meantime this picture helps me with my often wearisome tasks. Sitting just isn't an option.....yet.
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