We can go through life so quickly and forget to be thankful for all the obvious things. The first of which is our life. We only think of it when we are dying. Or, when we have a near death experience. In the same way we do not think about God until we are at wits end. What is the problem? Maybe it is because the existence of God and a loving relationship with Him is too good to be true and we default to second best.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.
The rest of the chapter in Hebrews is so full of stories of God blessed people through the ages. The writer of Hebrews calls them elders. The Old Testament is full of this rich history of God's continued involvement with man. This chapter aptly summarizes the faith journey of these elders from different periods of history. They did not see all the promises of God fulfilled in their lifetime because God operates outside time and space and they knew it was coming in the future. But yet the elders remained full of faith as they traversed some personally difficult times.
Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.
The elders did not settle for anything less than the best. God is a Father who wants the best for His children. But yet, we choose badly. Yes, I mentioned before that God is pro-choice. He is a loving Father who does not want to force you. Come to the Father before it is too late. Don't settle for second best. Come to the Father for the best!
Father, thank you my God and my Heavenly Father.
Comments
Post a Comment