Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.
If you’re not familiar with these pop-music groups, Dylan (the English female vocalist), Maroon 5, Chill Nation, Tokyo’s Revenge, chances are your children or grandchildren are. The common factor among these groups (and perhaps nearly a dozen others) is that they have all recorded Dylan’s song, “Nothing Lasts Forever.” We will not go into the lyrics here (which are, indeed, rough around the edges), but state that the entire song explores the fleeting nature of relationships, emotions, and life itself. The song, which has spread like wildfire particularly among Gen Z’ers, declares a lack of emotional investment toward anything or anyone—a willingness to break societal norms and rebel against traditional expectations. The chorus emphasizes the theme of absolute impermanence, insisting that all facets of human relational commitments are not only subject to change, but also “decay.” Sadly, this is the worldview of much of the unbelieving community today.
It is true that we live in a world of inevitable change, and relationships will ultimately end when one person leaves this earth before the other. But Christians do not, nor should they live as if the earth was constantly moving under their feet (remembering an old Carole King sentiment). The writer of Hebrews is reminding us that believers in Christ have placed their feet on firmer ground. Ultimately, all that is temporal in this world will be done away with, because Jesus, “the founder and perfecter of our faith” (12:2), redemptively “shook the earth” (12:26) free from all sinful temporalities and set our feet on eternal paths, walking us toward a “kingdom that cannot be shaken” (12:28)! We have received this kingdom. We’re practically there; and for that, we ought to live and worship God out of an attitude of thanksgiving!
We do so with “reverence and awe” that flows from a grateful heart because of what Christ has done for us by providing for the forgiveness of our sin. But we also worship reverently because “God is a consuming fire,” (12:29). The writer of Hebrews, who often refers to the Old Testament, draws this concept of the essential nature of God into a New Testament context. The metaphor of “fire” used here refers not so much to judgment as it does to His holy presence, and His passionate love for those He has redeemed (the context of the passage infers this interpretation). Surely, the imagery reinforces the intimacy God desires to have with those who will live with Him in the eternal, unshakable kingdom prepared for them. Our salvation, our daily walk with God, our acknowledgement of His grace and mercy moving through the experiences of our lives ought to be placed at the top of our list of blessings to be thankful for throughout the days of our lives.
By Bill Niblette, Ph.D., Bible League International staff, Pennsylvania, U.S.