Burnt toast and dog breath... Hebrews 10

"Burnt toast and dog breath",
this was the answer my son gave to the following college orientation question: "What smells remind you of home?"!
Does that mean he'll miss us?
I had to get in two more parental warnings before we left him there in that sad little dorm room;
and two more how-tos...
and two more becauses...
followed up with two more hugs;
and two more "I'm proud of and I love you(s)..."
and one big fat kiss.
As the concerns of what we failed and forgot to prepare him for set in, I am reading Hebrews 10.
This chapter (vv. 19-39) strikes me similarly.
Like a last minute parental list, these warnings, how-tos and ultimate whys of a godly life are spelled out for us:
How-to:
- Sincerely draw near to God
- Hold fast to the truth of your faith
- Consider how to encourage others in their walk of faith
- Consistently spend time with the people who encourage your faith (vv.22-25)
Why?
- Because Christ made a way for us to draw near to God (v.19)
- Because God has a reward for you if you persevere in faith (vv. 35-36)
- Because it pleases the only One who is worth pleasing (vv. 37-38)
- Because the eternal destiny of your soul depends on the perseverance of your faith in His grace and forgiveness ( v. 39)
Warnings:
(v.26-27) "For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sin, but a terrifying expectation of judgment...
(v.29) "How much severer  punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God..."
(v.31) "It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

At times during the last two decades of parenting we've had to spell out the consequences of behaviors very specifically; some of the warnings made no impact at all. Sometimes a child's hope of the imagined outcome far outweighed the pain of a consequence. It has been our responsibility as loving parents to increase the intensity of the warning based on the danger of the behavior. We have found that the confidence our children have in our love and good desires for them greatly impacts their consideration of our warnings. If they doubted us, they ran to destruction faster than we could say... "I told you so!"
It is not different with our Heavenly Father. His warnings to walk in faith are dire because His love and good desires for us are so intense. But if we doubt that love and good intention, His warnings seem more like threats from an angry, vengeful, Theo-egomaniac...and we want to run away faster than He can say..."I showed you so."
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it is the way of death..." Proverbs 14:12
and so He died, that in the end He made a way to life.
If your life is not pointing you to this truth: "God loves me and has a good plan for my life", sincerely draw near by asking Him to show you. I am confident in answer, you will feel the reassurance of His "I'm proud of you and I love you(s)" and they will begin to make you miss Him...

 not run the other way.