Back when I was a kid, my whole family would make our annual trip to visit my maternal grandparents. They lived a long way from us, so the visit was both memorable and grueling. One of my memories from that time was the gigantic footstool in their home. My grandparents had very little money and rented the same four-room house until grandpa died. And their tiny house seemed even smaller because Grandpa’s footstool took up all the floor space in their living room.
A footstool for Jesus
As I was reading chapter ten of the book of Hebrews, I came across verse seven, and my memory of Grandpa’s footstool exploded into my thoughts. Hmm. How big will the footstool for Jesus be? Did the author of Hebrews mean a literal footstool? Well, here’s the passage. Please read, and then we’ll reconvene to consider the meaning.
But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.
So, what do you think? Is it a literal footstool or a literary tool to express Jesus conquering all His enemies and causing them to submit to His Lordship, as King of kings and Lord of lords? Yep, I agree with you; it’s a real footstool. 😉
Enemies of God
I like the imagery of a footstool that Jesus actually props His feet on. And I do have to admit that there are times when I like to imagine some people being stuffed into Christ’s footstool, but that is my weakness coming out. Still, when I look across the vast history of God’s plan of redemption, I see many people that went to their graves as enemies of God’s plan and of God.
As for people alive today, I cannot know if they will die an enemy of God. So, without this ability, I must assume that a day will come before they pass when they receive Jesus as their Redeemer and Savior. Therefore, I cannot allow vain imaginations of them being stuffed into Christ’s footstool, no matter how tempting that is.
The stuffing
Okay, if I can’t, then you can’t. We must stop making judgments upon people that presently work to harm God’s plan. It doesn’t matter what people do; we can’t determine their final condition. After all, “Amazing Grace” was written by a former slave trader, John Newton, in 1772. This hymn was just one of two-hundred and eighty hymns he wrote after receiving Jesus as his Lord and Savior. I’m quite sure that many people saw no hope for Mr. Newton before his conversion.
I know many of us keep a mental tally of who we think will be stuffed into the footstool of Jesus, but we really must stop thinking that way. That decision belongs to God alone. Jesus eagerly awaits the time when His footstool gets stuffed, but that event belongs to Him. You and I are but onlookers, assuming that you have received Jesus as your Savior. If not, I’ll look for you in the footstool of Jesus. 😳
Photo by Ben Garratt on Unsplash
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