July 10, 2023

Hebrews 11 (HCSB)
Heroes of Faith
11 Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. 2 For our ancestors won God’s approval by it. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by God’s command, so that what is seen has been made from things that are not visible. 4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was approved as a righteous man, because God approved his gifts, and even though he is dead, he still speaks through his faith. 5 By faith Enoch was taken away so he did not experience death, and he was not to be found because God took him away. For prior to his removal he was approved, since he had pleased God. 6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him. 7 By faith Noah, after he was warned about what was not yet seen and motivated by godly fear, built an ark to deliver his family. By faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. 8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and went out to a place he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he stayed as a foreigner in the land of promise, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, coheirs of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 By faith even Sarah herself, when she was unable to have children, received power to conceive offspring, even though she was past the age, since she considered that the One who had promised was faithful.12 Therefore from one man—in fact, from one as good as dead—came offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as innumerable as the grains of sand by the seashore. 13 These all died in faith without having received the promises, but they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth. 14 Now those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they were thinking about where they came from, they would have had an opportunity to return.
16 But they now desire a better place—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He received the promises and he was offering his unique son, 18 the one it had been said about, Your seed will be traced through Isaac. 19 He considered God to be able even to raise someone from the dead, and as an illustration, he received him back. 20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. 21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and he worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. 22 By faith Joseph, as he was nearing the end of his life, mentioned the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions concerning his bones. 23 By faith, after Moses was born, he was hidden by his parents for three months, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they didn’t fear the king’s edict. 24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter 25 and chose to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the short-lived pleasure of sin. 26 For he considered the reproach because of the Messiah to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, since his attention was on the reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt behind, not being afraid of the king’s anger, for Moses persevered as one who sees Him who is invisible. 28 By faith he instituted the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn might not touch the Israelites. 29 By faith they crossed the Red Sea as though they were on dry land. When the Egyptians attempted to do this, they were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after being encircled by the Israelites for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the prostitute received the spies in peace and didn’t perish with those who disobeyed. 32 And what more can I say? Time is too short for me to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, 33 who by faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the raging of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength after being weak, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received their dead—they were raised to life again. Some men were tortured, not accepting release, so that they might gain a better resurrection, 36 and others experienced mockings and scourgings, as well as bonds and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they died by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, destitute, afflicted, and mistreated. 38 The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and on mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground. 39 All these were approved through their faith, but they did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, so that they would not be made perfect without us.

Michael Jackson
If you are around me at all, it won’t take long for you to hear all about my grandfather, the greatest man I have known in my life. He passed away in 2017, but he is as alive to me in my heart and mind as he ever was. It was never his physical presence that I believed in, it was who he was and how he loved me and cared for me that welded him for an eternity to the deepest places in my soul. I do miss him being around to hang out with, but I understand the purpose of his life was not just for the short 97 years he lived. His purpose was to honor God and the people in his care by living out his life in such a way that his own faith in God was obvious to all of his family and friends, and his willingness to follow God’s path brought the rest of us to the beginnings of our own journeys of faith in something we believe in but can’t see. He was a real life inspiration for the concept of faith. The people in these scriptures that we read about today had to believe in something they couldn’t see, just like we have to do now. And in all of their lives, they seldom lived to see how their own faith fully impacted so many other people’s lives. We are on similar journeys in each of our lives. We read these stories in the Bible, and we search for a way to make them make sense to us today. But I wonder if the people in these stories understood at the time what their own faith would ever mean to those who might have never even known them. I doubt it. Their time was probably just focused on each day they lived, and it appears they sought to believe the God who created the universe also cared for them personally, and that their willingness to follow His lead might somehow help the others in their care. Isn’t it a great thing to have something to believe in? And to have people to remember that dedicated themselves to things they would never personally benefit from?
My grandfather may not have experienced extravagant rewards on earth. But his own faith in God caused him to live his life in such a way that a host of people still alive today can cling to as an example of a life well lived, one lived thinking about others. And we have all been fantastically rewarded by his example. God is pleased with our faith in Him. And He is pleased when we think of others. The two go hand in hand by the way. And seems to be a quite honorable way to spend our time. Our own reward for our faith is not here. It is coming later. And I’m certain my grandfather is living in the lap of God’s luxury at this very moment.