Over the past few weeks, we’ve been given
a deeper picture of who Jesus is and now the writer of the letter
encourages us to place our faith in Jesus. He reminds us of what faith is, “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance of what
we do not see.” Paul, in his letter to Rome, taught that “faith comes from
hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” Yet faith doesn’t always
come easily, as John shows in Thomas’ doubts that Jesus rose from the dead.
Jesus even tells Thomas, “Because you have seen me, you
have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
For the writer here, faith is trust in God’s promises and how they shape
our lives, so he tells us stories of faithful men and women in the past.
Faith
acknowledges that everything is in God’s hands, beginning with
the creation of the universe itself. As we saw a few weeks back, universe encompasses
all of space and time. Since no one was there to witness creation, it’s a
matter of faith that God directed it all through and in Jesus. Faith places
great value on all creation and on the gift of life, especially human life.
Value comes from the creator so creation and life are precious. In the stories that follow, there are many
stories where faith is small; it doesn’t have to be great; it simply needs to
be directed towards God. We live in a sceptical age where trust and faith are
limited, leading to a culture too often shaped by fear and anger instead of fullness
and joy.
The
writer reminds us of Abel, Enoch, and Noah, people who lived by faith even
when it wasn’t easy. Jesus talks more about crosses and suffering than about
easy. Abel’s killed by his brother, Enoch’s taken straight to heaven without
dying, while Noah builds a huge boat in the middle of nowhere because God told
him to. It took faith to trust that what God told him to do wasn’t craziness.
God
tells Abraham to go to a different country; he goes. That’s faith. He lives
the rest of his life in tents like a vagabond, a nomad in the Promised Land. It
takes faith in God, who’s just beginning to reveal to Abraham who he is; to look
to the future with confidence that God will do what he has said he will, even
if Abraham never benefits from it, “For Abraham was
looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is
God.”
Faith helps us to look forward with trust
and hope
because we know God’s with us. When there are setbacks, and even failures, we
trust God and keep looking forward, knowing God’s in control and he’ll use us,
though maybe not in the ways we’ve planned. Abraham’s story continues. He has a
son with the slave Hagar, but God tells him, “No, Sarah
is going to have the baby of the covenant even though she’s barren, showing
that it’s all about me, not about you.” Sure enough, a year later, when
Abraham’s 100 years old, Isaac is born. Then, years later, God tests Abraham’s
faith by telling him to sacrifice Isaac. “By faith
Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received
the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God has
said to him, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned,’
Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead. And figuratively speaking, he
did receive Isaac back from the dead.” Abraham obeys God, showing his
faith.
Faith creates a willingness to take some
risks
to do what God calls us to do. We can’t see every step of the way ahead of us,
but faith gives us the courage to take at least the next step and work at
listening and figuring out where God is calling us next, even if we don’t yet
know the full costs of following him. Mark Buchanan describes these stories of
faith as calling us to “live boldly, joyfully, dangerously, dying to self
yet fully alive. Each of those lived for something that nothing on earth could
provide. For all of them, the world was not enough. Only heaven held out that
prospect.” James says, “I will show you my faith by
what I do” and points to Abraham as an example of how faith and action
work together; our actions make our faith complete.
Moses chooses Israel over Egypt; to be identified
with slaves. Faith aligns ourselves with God, trusting that God’s rewards and
blessings are greater than what the world offers. The writer remembers the
Passover; how it took faith for the Israelites to believe that blood on their
door frames will save them from God’s anger, to be ready to leave their masters
and follow Moses. It takes faith to walk between walls of water through the Red
Sea while being chased by Pharaoh’s armies, trusting that God will protect
them. When Israel finally makes it into the Promised Land, their first battle
is fought with faith, trusting in the Lord to defeat Jericho using trumpets
instead of weapons.
Faith is a community thing. This offers us
greater strength and more abilities to draw on as we encourage each other and
build each other up. As people of faith, we remind each other that God is a God
of justice and mercy. Jesus brings justice and grace. Jesus calls us to
obedience and the Spirit showers us with blessings. How does our faith in God’s
promises and in Jesus lead us into trusting living in Jesus’ way? In the lists
of people and stories, we see people who mess up, people who even fail
sometimes; people who have times of weaknesses and doubt and keep trusting
God’s promises. These are stories of pain, suffering, and sacrifice and yet
their faith and trust in God remain. They trust that God has a long-term plan
in place and they have a role to play in it, even if they never see the benefits
themselves.
We’ve gotten out of the habit of
remembering and
telling the stories of the heroes of faith. Because of that, we find it
difficult to make the sacrifices Jesus calls us to make. We miss out on a great
source of strength, that the Lord is with us. Many of us no longer remember
people like Rev. Albertus van Raalte, Johanna Veenstra, William Carey, and
others in church history who stepped out in faith, trusting completely in God,
looking to the future, not the right now. Faith is something we learn by
hearing the stories of others who lived by faith. We find meaning and hope as
we work for God’s kingdom for our children and grandchildren, not ourselves.
I’ve
been asked by those who doubt Christianity how I can believe in God. I tell
them stories of some of the great thinkers in history and today; how they were
willing to suffer for what they believed. Many of these great thinkers and
doers never sought their own good, but taught and fought to build strong
communities based on the foundation of Jesus’ teaching and life. I share how
the teachings of Jesus compare to other faiths, including those faiths rooted
in science, rationality, philosophy, humanism and show how Jesus’ way builds
stronger and healthier lives, even if it comes with suffering. I tell them I
believe Jesus’ way is a greater way, trusting his call to live with grace and
love to all people, even loving those I consider enemies, believing that God
truly does not want anyone to be lost. This is why sharing the gospel story is
so important! This means studying the culture with a mind open to learning, and
a heart open to loving our neighbours and our enemies.
Erik
Heen gives us a picture of a lived out faith, “What if God’s way of speaking
in Christ crucified and risen does not lead to the stoning of animals (and
people) who are a threat to God holy purity, but is rather “proof” (11:1) of
the legitimate faith in a God of justice
who hears the long suffering cries of innocent blood shed (11:4), in a God of
tender-hearted compassion toward mothers whose children who die too young
(11:35), in a God of hospitality to
homeless wanderers in search of hope and consolation (11:9), in a God of favor
to those bound to a life of humiliating shame (11:31)? What if the Word that
God speaks from the cross is such that it is truly heard only when it responds
to human need? What if God’s Word simply falls silent when all it is perceived
to contain is the threat of holy, transcendent judgment upon all that is
impure, unholy, and profane?” Hebrews 11 tells us of people living in hope,
living forward, trusting in the promises of God.
In
the stories of the heroes of faith, we hear and see God bringing the message
of hope. We hear the stories of faith and our own faith is strengthened. The
good news of Jesus is best shared as the great story of the world, speaking
into the stories of humanity. How is the gospel story intertwined with your
story, how is the Holy Spirit speaking to you, leading you, guiding you? Are
you being called to go into missions, or work for a non-profit, or being open
to how the Spirit is using you in your business or place of work, or school?
Are you called to be more open about talking about Jesus, are you being called
to focus less on your own wants and more on supporting and building up a local
mission instead?
Are
you willing to take hard steps of faith, willing to trust God when it’s not
always completely clear on what exactly God is calling us to do or be? Are you
willing to live sacrificially for Jesus? Faith is a way of life. We’re part of
the cloud of witnesses, walking Jesus’ path in faith, and even if it leads to
sacrifice or suffering; let’s embrace that life.
No comments:
Post a Comment