Crowned with Glory and Honor

Hebrews 2:5-9 (ESV)

Scripture: Hebrews 2:5-9 (ESV)
“For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. It has been testified somewhere, ‘What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet.’ Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”

Devotion:

When I was a child, I was (still am) fascinated by space. One of my favourite childhood memories is an overnight camp I attended at a space observatory when I was around 13 years of age. We got to point the telescopes wherever we wanted, and I got to see Jupiter and Saturn for the first time with my own eyes. It is really hard to describe the feeling: it is a weird mix between feeling incredibly small and incredibly privileged at the same time. The writer of Hebrews quotes Psalm 8 in this passage with the same kind of wonder. Why would God care for us, when there is such an immense universe. And yet, God does care for us. Not only cares for us, but puts us only a little lower than the angels. Have you considered the significance of that?

The writer of Hebrews reminds us that it’s not angels who will rule the world to come, but humans. Christians will be coheir and corulers with Christ in when the world is redeemed. This just goes to show how elevated our status is in the world, but we often feel anything but elevated. We see brokenness, sin, and failure all around us and, if we are honest, also within us. We were created for glory and honor, yet we live in a fallen world where the dominion we were created for escapes us.

But our current state is not our final state. This passage in Hebrews reminds us of this and points us once again to Jesus. Although He was made lower than the angels for a time, He is now crowned with glory and honour. How did he get his glory? Through suffering and death. How do we get glory? Through being included “in Christ” as believers. It is precisely because Jesus died for us that our brokenness is healed. And it is precisely because Jesus rose again that we know we too will receive bodies that aren’t broken eternally. It is his death and resurrection that restores us to the place God intended for us in creation.

But as redeemed people, we get to start living out of that new identity right now. The question is: Are you? Are you living more like the broken, pre-Christ self? Or more like the co-heir you are in Christ?

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank You for tasting death for us and for being crowned with glory and honor. Help us to remember our place in Your creation and to live with the confidence that comes from knowing You are in control. Strengthen our faith when we see the brokenness around us, and remind us of the glory that awaits. Amen.

Spiritual Challenge:

Today, reflect on the areas of your life where you feel powerless or insignificant. Ask Jesus to help you see His glory and honor in those places, and seek ways to demonstrate His kingdom values through acts of kindness, justice, and love.