Monday, November 28

Hebrews 11:1

Sandy Peters

Hebrews 11:1

The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living.  It’s our handle on what we can’t see.

Eugene Peterson had titled this 11th Chapter of Hebrews “Faith in What We Don’t See”.   This letter was written to folks who were” too religious” and who had let religiosity get in the way of their faith.   As Christians we have been asked to believe in all sorts of things we cannot see.  We are asked to believe in stories that have been handed down for more than 2000 years: the story of Noah and his ark, the story of a very elderly man and woman having a baby, the story of a man climbing a mountain and receiving the commandments of the God he believed in, the story of a baby born to a virgin in a manger who would later be crucified for our sins and then resurrected so that we might have  everlasting life.    What this particular verse is reminding us is that it is the faith of all of these folks and others that helps us to see what we can’t see.  It is the faith of Moses and Noah and Sarah, Mary and the shepherds, angels, Wise Men and Disciples that lets us wrap ourselves around what we cannot see.  It is through their faith and the faith of others down through the generations that has built the foundation for our faith.  It is now our faith that will be passed on to future generations.  A faith that allows us to affirm and reaffirm that through God the Father and Christ the Son all things are possible.

Let our prayers reflect those beliefs and that faith as we anticipate and prepare ourselves for the birth of the Son of God.