Once and for All 

God on Monday
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 The blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, [will] purify our conscience from dead works to worship the living God! (Hebrews 9.14).

Reflection

Mark Twain once said that a clear conscience is the sure sign of a bad memory. On that score, most of us probably have quite good memories. We easily harbour regrets about the past, and secrets about the present. If you are anything like me, you may also be prone to suffer from a sense of guilt.

A natural human response to a troubled conscience can be the urge to pay off what feels like a debt. This may play out in various ways, including through excessively hard work. For Christians, it may result in feeling excluded from the redemption of Christ.

Some of this can reflect the world of transactions in which we live. We are prepared to put in long hours to get a salary increase, a promotion, or simply the affirmation we long for. When so many facets of our lives are permeated with our need to do something to get the reward, we can end up applying the same formula to our walk with God. 

For the writer to the Hebrews, Christ’s shed blood on the cross is at the heart of the Christian message. That blood has obtained eternal redemption for human beings and the cleansing of their consciences.  

The sacrificial system of the old order has thereby been rendered obsolete. Sin has been atoned for once and for all. Through Christ’s offering of himself as the ultimate sacrifice, the penalty for sin has been paid. Animal sacrifice was never going to be enough to clear the human conscience. Lasting freedom from the shame and guilt of wrongdoing was only possible through the unique work of Christ.

All this can liberate us from our attempts to compensate for our pangs of conscience, influenced as they often are by our transactional culture. Hard work, instead of being a response to guilt, can be a response to God’s love, shown most completely in Christ’s life, death and resurrection.

Response

Are there times when your hard work is motivated, at least in part, by the attempt to earn God’s love and affirmation? Meditate on the verse above and know afresh the all-forgiving redemptive power of the cross. Enjoy the sense of liberation this gives. Determine that your work this week will be motivated by love. 

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank you that you paid the price for my sin. Thank you for your blood that sets me free. Help me to live in this freedom in my work this week.

This Week's Author

God on Monday is produced in partnership with the Church of England. The reflections are based on the scriptural readings designated for the next Sunday in the Church's lectionary. You can sign up here to receive each God on Monday instalment.

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