| OUR PLACE WITH CHRIST Here is one of the closing challenges of this great epistle. Are you willing to take your place openly with Christ? Where is that place? Remember this letter was written to Jewish Christians who seemed to be missing and even longing for the splendour and the action of the great Temple worship in Jerusalem. The writer says 'We have an altar, but it is not in the glorious earthly temple. It is outside the city at a place called Calvary' (v. 12). That little hill on which Christ was crucified was outside the city wall. More than that, Christ himself was considered to be cursed because the Old Testament said 'Cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree'. It would not be easy for a Jewish Christian to identify himself with Christ. But the challenge here is plain. 'Let's take our place with him, even if it is the place of rejection by the rest of the world.' For the Jewish Christians this might mean the breaking of family ties. It could mean misunderstandings and even suffering and ridicule. But this was the place to which the gospel called the believer. The cost had to be faced if Christ was to be received. The place of the Saviour is also the place for the saved. That is still true today. If we are going to know true fellowship with Christ, then we must take our place with him. It means separating from the world that crucified Christ and letting it be known that we are one with him, no matter the cost. This does not mean separation from every other Christian as some people have tried to make it mean. That only leads to legalism and spiritual pride. The New Testament teaches us that to be in fellowship with Christ means also to be in fellowship with God's people wherever the truth of the gospel is preached. We will be living together in eternity. Why not start recognising each other now? A PRAYER FOR TODAY: Lord help me to take my stand with you and for you today, no matter the cost. | 
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