My discussion of the need to prepare anchors and of the nature of my anchors didn't feel complete without connecting it to this famous verse identifying Jesus Christ as our anchor: "We who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul..." (Hebrews 6:18-19).

     In my previous post, I described how my heart is anchored by the knowledge that God is sovereign, God is wise, and God is good.  I could simply leave it at that and say, "I know it's true because the Bible says so." I would not be wrong. But I am one of the weak in faith who needs as much assurance as the Lord will give. And I know I'm not the only one. So the Lord doesn't just tell us that he is sovereign, wise, and good. He shows us, and he shows us that in Jesus Christ.

     In Jesus we see that God is sovereign. He planned from long ago to send Christ as our redeemer, and no invading Roman army, no bloodthirsty Herod, no betraying Judas, no fearful Peter, no scheming serpent can disrupt his plan. Even the grave has no power to hold back the saving work of Christ (Acts 2:24). Because Jesus has risen from the dead, I know that nothing in all creation has the power to separate me from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39).

     In Jesus we see that God is wise. Though the cross - salvation by self-sacrifice, glory through humiliation - seems foolish to the world, it displays the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:21-25). Who else would have planned such a perfect salvation for his people? In Ephesians 3:9-11, Paul describes the gospel of Jesus as a mystery long hidden but now revealed, a mystery in which the eternal purposes of God are fulfilled in Jesus.

     In Jesus we see that God is good. The gift of a dying savior is how God shows us what love truly is. In 1 John 4:10 we read, "In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." God endures the pain of the cross in order to save his children. Though our understanding of what is good may be different from God's, the cross redefines our true need and shows us that God is lovingly at work to do what is best for us.

     When the author of Hebrews called Jesus our sure and steadfast anchor, he also adds one more nautical term that makes the whole image more beautiful. He writes: "We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf."

     Most Greek harbors were blocked by sandbars. You might have to wait until high tide to get to safety, even if a storm was upon you. But you could give your anchor to a forerunner - a little boat that would take your anchor into the harbor and secure in the rocky bottom. So even while you waited to reach safety, and even as the storm tossed you about, you were still anchored.  

     The author of Hebrews says that Jesus took our anchor - our desire for security, our hope for peace - and he took it like a forerunner. But instead of going into a harbor (and here he mixes metaphors, but we'll allow it), he takes it "behind the curtain." The curtain was the divider in the temple that kept people out of the Holy of Holies, the place where God chose to be present with his people in the Old Testament. It was the place where the yearly sacrifice for the sins of the people was made and the blood of the sacrifice was poured on the Ark of the Covenant. Jesus went into the place of sacrifice (the actual presence of God and not the symbol of the temple) and gave up his life for our sins. In doing so, he firmly fixed our anchor on the most solid place imaginable - on the unchanging character of God. And so we sing "In every high and stormy gale my anchor holds within the veil."

     At the cross of Christ, I see the sovereign power, the wise plan, and the good heart of God all working together. And it is there that my anchor holds, no matter what the doctors tell me.

     Randy tells me I have to include a link to this song about Christ, Our Sure and Steady Anchor. I took a listen and agreed with him.