Do you have that faith?

All those great men and women mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11 trusted in God and in His Word.  Abraham, for example, had the kind of trust and faith that enabled him to pack up and to blindly follow God.

When I was a young Christian, I dreamed of being a famous architect, of having my own office, fame and fortune, a good dream in the world.  I saw the price that those I worked for paid to have their own office. The very first architect I worked for in San Antonio opened my eyes. One day his wife, the fashion editor for one of the newspapers, their two preschool children, and the nanny stopped by the office. I noticed that the children were very uncomfortable with their mother and father. They clung to the nanny.  Several other architects I worked with later paid the price of hardly ever seeing their children or their wives, and some wisely had neither. They also had no time for God. Their businesses took up 80 hours over each week, and they worked every day of the week.

At the same time, Jesus through the Word was pulling me toward Him. That was when my faith began to grow.  I realized that being a famous architect is but fleeting glory.  I began to accept a simple fact—here on the earth I am a stranger.  Where is home, you ask.  Home is where my heavenly Father is.  “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.“Philippians 3:20/ That is where I belong—not here, but in heaven .

“All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for He has prepared a city for them,” Hebrews 11:13-16.

The real everlasting glory is to trust with a faith like those people we read of in Hebrews 11.  We need to develop that same kind of faith; unlike them, we have seen the fulfillment of the promise of God in Christ dying on the cross to redeem us.

Gracious Heavenly Father, the love that redeemed us when we were sinners in rebellion against our Ruler is beyond our understanding. I pray as I go through this day that You grant me the wisdom, courage, and strength to turn my life over to Christ. Help me to understand that this world is not my home and that You, Father, have promised a better home with You. Help my faith to grow. In the name of my Lord Christ Jesus, Amen.      ─ Ed