In today’s scripture we hear about faith – the “realization for what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

We hear of Abraham, an exemplar of faith – a man who in the deepest recesses of his heart realized all the good that God has in store for his people – a realization in which Abraham placed all his hope and trust.  And through his faith – his acceptance of God’s will even to the point of his willingness to sacrifice his only son – Abraham provides witness for the “things not seen”.

And what was it that allowed Abraham’s faith to be filled with such certainty and hope?

I would think that Abraham’s faith had a lot to do with his constant communion with God which led to an ongoing and ever-deepening realization of all the good God had in store for Abraham and the people he was to father.

And it is the same for us.

Like Abraham our faith allows us to realize all the good God has in store – a realization that is the basis for our hope.

Like Abraham we are called to go out into the world even though we might not be sure where the road might take us.  We are called to embrace our “inheritance” as children of God, and to trust that God will help us navigate that road, all the way up to the day when we reach our promised destiny.

And like Abraham we are also called to be witnesses – to provide “evidence of things not seen”.  We allow our faith to inform our lives.  We allow our faith to translate into concrete actions of love and compassion.  We allow our faith to help us become more like Christ, to live as Jesus did, to be beacons of light in our world, to show others God’s love.

And like Abraham, we achieve all of this only to the extent that we open ourselves to God and allow God to enter into our lives.  We achieve this only to the extent that we enter into communion with Jesus on a daily basis, allowing Christ to cultivate in us fertile soil for God’s seed. We achieve this only to the extent that we open ourselves more and more to Jesus and come to truly realize what Jesus achieved for us on the cross, and all the good God has in store for us.

So we continue onward, opening ourselves to Christ each day, speaking with him in the quiet moments of the day, asking him to bestow on us, and nurture in us, the greatest of gifts – an ever deepening faith – a faith that, as the prayer goes, is “full and unreserved, free and certain, strong and joyful, and filled with humility and love”.

 

 

One response to “

  1. Jim Zinsmeister

    One of my favorite quotations from the New Testament: “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” –Hebrews 11:13 / Well said, Joe.

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