I was a biologist and medical chemist before I became a pastor, and I was forever amazed by the intricate patterns in nature.
The fractal patterns in snowflakes, the Fibonacci sequence (the golden spiral) of seeds in a sunflower, the hexagonal patterns in a honeycomb, the radial webs of a spider, the stripes on a zebra, the veins in leaves, the scales on a fish, the ripples in sand dunes, and on and on and on ...
The pattern for what we’ve been doing with the Bible comes from Habakkuk 2. 4, “…but the righteous one will live by his faith.”
The book of Romans talks about “the righteous one.” Ephesians talks about “will live.” And Hebrews explains what “by his faith” means. “… but the righteous one will live by his faith!”
Faith is the handle on our relationship with Jesus in Hebrews.
“That is why we must hold on all the more firmly to the truths we have heard, so that we will not be carried away.”
— Hebrews 2: 1
This is the first of five warnings in Hebrews: Life without an anchor begins to drift off course, like a ship without an anchor. Truth is our anchor.
We talk about “being grounded” and the first thing a builder does is lay the foundation. You’ll remember Jesus told a story about two men who built houses.
One built his house on the sand in what the Navajos call a “wash” or dry stream bed, and when the rains came, the flood washed his house away. The other man built his house on the solid ground above the “wash,” and when the rains came, he simply watched the floodwaters and the first man’s house flow past him through the “wash.”
“How, then, shall we escape if we pay no attention to such a great salvation?” — Hebrews 1: 3 Salvation is the rope that connects us to God’s anchor — the truth.
Adam and Eve were anchored to God in the garden of Eden until they let go of the rope by eating the forbidden fruit. Now they, and we, are adrift in a world where the knowledge of evil has overcome our knowledge of good.
But Jesus, when he sees us drowning in our knowledge of evil, never tells us to “save yourself!” He sees us drowning and from the cross, he throws us the rope of salvation.
Now all we can do is grab hold of it and hold on. Don’t let yourself drift away!
Charles “Buddy” Whatley is a retired United Methodist pastor serving Dawson Street Methodist Church in Thomasville, Ga.
