Goodbye Cherokee! All Things Come To An End!

Hebrews 7:23-25 “Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood. Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them.”

All things come to an end, so we’ve been told. This can be a good thing when times are hard, but other times this truth is difficult to swallow. Special days we’ve waited for like birthdays, weddings, and holidays come and go so quickly leaving us with sweet memories and nostalgic feelings. Sadly, relationships also come to an end.

This past week our family said goodbye to a good and faithful friend. Our sweet German Shepherd, Cherokee, struggling with weak back legs for some time now, finally got to the point where she could only drag her body around with her front legs. The joy of living an active life was over for her as there was nothing anybody could do to help.

Her spot by the back door is now empty. There is no one to greet us when we arrive home, chase away the wildlife that interlopes on our property, or guard the newspaper we receive every morning. We are so sad, but this is the way of life. All things come to an end! The position she played in our family is now a gaping hole.

In the Old Testament priests were an important part of the religious life of God’s people. They functioned as mediators between God and men. They performed sacrifices, offered gifts and took care of the tabernacle where the Lord’s presence dwelled so that the people could be in right standing with God. But there were a few problems with this system of worship.

First of all, the human priests had their own sin. In order to mediate for the rest of the people they needed to offer a personal sacrifice first. Secondly, the gifts and sacrifices they offered were not sufficient to make the people completely righteous in God’s eyes. Day after day they continually had to offer new sacrifices. Thirdly, the position these men held as priests was terminated when they died. As each generation passed away a new priest needed to step in and take their place.

As with all things, this Old Testament sacrificial system of reconciliation with God has now also come to an end. God knew that it was weak and useless (Heb 7:18) so He established a new and better way for people to become right with Him. This new system will never dissolve because it is based on the permanent priesthood of Jesus Christ. God’s own Son, Who is holy, blameless, pure, and set apart from sinners, has no sin of His own and is fully capable of meeting all our needs. He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him because He always lives to intercede for us.

I suppose we should say that almost all things come to an end. We had to say goodbye to Cherokee and someday we will find another pet to fill her spot. But thankfully for those who come to God through Jesus, our relationship is forever secure. We can count on this because our Savior and perfect High Priest, Jesus Christ, lives forever to intercede on our behalf. His priesthood will never end!!

Love,

Mama