By Faith 2

Hebrews 11:1-6

Many years ago a pastor used a story of a riverboat in his sermon. The story talked of a little boy sitting at the end of a tiny, wooden pier on the banks of a wide river. A passer-by noticed the boy waving a handkerchief at an approaching riverboat.

“That boat won’t stop for you, son,” the man offered.

“Oh, yes it will,” the boy said.

And sure enough the boat swung toward the bank, struggled against the current, then gently pulled up to the tiny pier.

“The captain is my daddy,” the boy said as he boarded the boat.

To an onlooker the situation seemed hopeless, but the faithful boy had complete confidence in what would happen.

The Book of Hebrews seems to be a letter to Jewish believers who are new to Christian faith. Much of it appeals to Jewish tradition and logic. In this passage the author is talking about confident faith.

How is faith described? What concrete example of faith is given in verse 3? How is Abel an example of faith? How is an Enoch (see Genesis 5:24) an example? What is required to please God? What must we believe?

The examples of Abel and Enoch are there as lessons to emphasize that there were and are people who live lives of faith. Each of us could certainly replace these names with people we have known or heard about who have lived lives of faith.

The key phrases for me are verses 1 and 6. Faith is confidence in what is hoped for and what we do not have yet – what we cannot see. Faith is knowing that miracles can happen. Faith is knowing that things can and will be better for us if we simply stick with our convictions.

Faith is having a confidence that the world can be better, that our society can be better, that our own spiritual lives can be improved. Faith is knowing, deep in our hearts – knowing with confidence – that we are not alone. God is with us.

We can not please God, nor can we have a relationship with God, unless we believe that He is real. How can we trust in God, how can we turn to God, unless we first believe that He is there waiting for us to come to Him?

We must have faith in our invisible God. We must know He is real and be confident in His love and grace.

DAILY CHALLENGE: What do you hope for? Are you confident in the faith that it will come about?