Have you ever walked up to a door and wondered if you should even knock? It’s the house of a neighbor couple. One you’ve never talked to before. One who seems grumpy most of the time, and probably doesn’t want to talk to you. But you feel obligated to invite them to the cookout you’re hosting. They can’t be the only ones on the block that doesn’t get an invitation, can they? You approach slowly, heart pounding, hand raised timidly – half hoping no one will answer. What if they don’t want you there?
That is what it feels like to come before a holy God on our own. His law exposes every sin. His holiness is too bright for us to stand in. Left to ourselves, we approach His door timidly, uncertain whether he will welcome us or turn us away. Abel’s blood, spilled by his brother, still cried out to God for justice. And our sins, too, cry out against us that justice must be done.
Hebrews 12 points us to a different voice: You have come … to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel (12:23-24) Jesus’ blood does not cry out for justice. It proclaims mercy. It forgives and opens wide the door to God’s grace.
So now, when we come to God, we need not creep forward timidly. The next time guilt makes you hesitant, remember that the blood of Jesus speaks a better word. Approach boldly, not because you are worthy, but because he is. Worthy to save. Worthy to welcome us to his home.
You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. (Hebrews 12:23-24)