I love the book of Hebrews. It is packed full of incredible passages of scripture proclaiming the supremacy of Jesus the Messiah. There is a certain fragment of one verse that jumps off the page at me every time I read through this particular book. It comes in Hebrews chapter 2, verse 9. Leading up to this particular passage is the admission that the world as they saw it then (and as we see it now, for that matter) does not look like at all like it is under the control of Jesus, even though it is proclaimed to be. I find this same line of thinking around me constantly in the world today. If Jesus is really supreme, why all the evil in the world? If Jesus came to bring peace, why is there war? If Jesus came to bring love, why do so many people hate each other so much? If Jesus came to bring the kingdom of God, why are there still such huge political battles still raging? If Jesus came to bring truth, why all the different theologies, false religions, and corrupt evangelists? We today are asking the same questions these Christian Jews were struggling with.

Hebrews 2, verse 9 answers this issue by using these four amazing words… but we see Jesus. I get chills every time I read it. It screams to me of the dramatic lapse of focus, not only in the world around us, but in the church as well. It seems to me that we are often so concentrated on the battles of this world that we forget that Jesus really is in control of all of it. It doesn’t always make sense, in fact it rarely does, but it is the truth. I have to think that the way Jesus brings us to completion by taking us through the refiner’s fire is the same way He is working in the world around us. I am trying to remember these four beautiful words when I begin to lose focus of Him and start placing it on the issues and battles of the world instead.

The world sees freedom hanging in the balance in violent wars… but we see Jesus. The nation sees a failing economy that threatens our ability to survive and provide for our families… but we see Jesus. The world tells us our path to happiness is sex, money, and fame… but we see Jesus. The nation sees power as being held by either Republicans or Democrats… but we see Jesus. The world sees the battle between right and wrong as something for courts, judges, and supreme court rulings… but we see Jesus.

Jesus is supreme… over politics, over presidents, over terrorism, over the economy, over your checkbook, over your health, over your failings, over your addictions, over your disappointments… over everything. Do we truly see Jesus in all things? I know I, for one, struggle with this, but I also know that the only times that I experience the peace that surpasses understanding are the times when I can truly say, but I see Jesus.

- Brad