Dispensations

I read: Hebrews

Warning: The long post has returned :)

Paul seems to be in a huge hurry to get this letter out. No fancy introduction about the grace and peace of Lord Jesus being with the audience here. Here's the start: "Going through a long line of prophets, God has been addressing our ancestors in different ways for centuries." So, how's it going, Paul? Anything new, Paul? Nope, he has a message and it's here and now and it's time to pay attention.

At the risk of sounding theological, I want to bring up a fascinating idea called "dispensations." The opening to Hebrews that I just quoted is at the root of dispensations but one might also define them as the different ways that God relates to humanity throughout our history. For instance, the first dispensation is found in God and Adam and Eve. The dude is literally walking around in Eden with them. Then they're kicked out. The direct connection is lost, but God is still present and expecting people to live moral lives. This brings us through Noah and Abraham and then up to Moses. Under Moses we receive the Law and that defines our relationship with God as keeping rules and regulations and making sacrifices when we screw up.

Then there's the New Testament, a refrain of sorts: Remmanuel, God with us, again. The disciples walked side-by-side with God. Then we're separated for a short time as Jesus takes off and then does his cameo appearances throughout the final gospel chapters. And then we arrive in the one last dispensation that we're all still in: the sending out of the Holy Spirit to dwell within us.

What an exciting time this is! Despite that 33 year blip, this is as close as we've gotten to God since Eden. The point of all this? God wants us near, he wants to be with us and he wants us to want to be with him. Certainly good news.

How do we know that he wants us near? He tries so hard. I don't think that God's Law Covenant failed (Paul addresses it later in Hebrews, so stay tuned!) and he decided that Plan B is sending in Christ. Not at all. Enter my speculation on dispensations that might be totally unfounded or, perhaps, unknowingly plagarized from someone else.

God loves cycles, he loves growth, biggest fan of metamorphosis ever. It's a very creative and patient creator who creates the life cycle of amphibians or the seed-to-plant process of our flora. Mammals go from two tiny litle cells to a larger combined cell to four to eight and so on. I might be labeled heathen by many for believing this, but there's very little doubt in my mind that God created evolution as his tool to bring life from nothing here on earth. Again, a process. And just like all of that, our relationship (as humans, but also individually) evolves with God. Observe:

• God:Adam & Eve::Baby in the womb:Mom
• Adam & Eve:Leaving the garden::Baby:being born
• Pre-Moses humanity:God::Infant/Toddler:Parents (a pause to clarify: we live under our parents and begin to develop a list of good/bad but don't quite understand why something is good or bad, it just is)
• Humanity under the law:God::Children/Teenagers:Parents (as we grow we begin to understand why our parents say things are good and bad and can begin to adapt to that with slip-ups occuring)
• Humanity under grace:God::Grown children:Parents (at some point we begin to relate to our parents as peers, the laws of right and wrong aren't accompanied by grounding and forgiveness but by us making our own decisions)

And then, the part we're all waiting for: heaven, life in Christ's kingdom, being in God's hizzouse forever. That's our understanding of heaven really, the place we go after life and the next logical step of this progression. If it really does work that way, I think that is evidence of a God who knows what he is doing and has been very intentional all along. And that's why I'm glad he's in charge :)

(Disclaimer: I don't know if all this information on dispensations is necessarily 100% accurate [I might have created a few of my own in this list], but it's at least a good starting place to begin your own research if you're interested!)