Hebrews 11:1-6
A couple years ago, our family visited the Basketball Hall of Fame. On display are pictures documenting the development of the game, giant Nike’s that made mine look like toddlers’ shoes, and players’ handprints that my head could fit into. These people deserve their fame, and everything about them that has been preserved for us makes that point.
Hebrews 11 invites us to linger like we’re staring at snapshots documenting ancient faith, following giant footprints of those who’ve gone before us, and noticing the massive handprint of the One who held them all the way.
If we rolled out the red carpet, the subjects of this chapter would probably look over their shoulders wondering who was being honored. Fame wasn’t the path they walked; faith was. Hebrews 11 describes the effect that faith had in their lives, but first, it reaches back in time to start the discussion on faith with the beginning of the world, before any human made their mark.
Verses 1-3. Faith agrees that when God spoke, atoms arranged, molecules bonded, chemicals reacted, and matter came into being. Life formed, because God said it should. Life continues because He upholds it by the Word of His power. What I see with my eyes was created because God opened His mouth.
Faith accepts that life itself depends on the Word of God.
Verses 4-6. Life is full of endings, often unexpected ones, as seen in the first two examples highlighted in this chapter. These men didn’t know their days would be cut short: one is murdered, taken at the hand of his angry brother; the other is taken by the hand of God and avoided experiencing death. Their sudden departures from life only amplify their legacy of faith.
Unlike his brother, Abel drew near to God in faith. This pleased God but infuriated his brother enough to kill Abel for it. All over the world today, martyrs’ blood declares their faith long after they’re gone.
Unlike his ancestors, whose sin caused them to hide from God as God walked through the garden, Enoch walked with God. He stood in contrast to the sin of his people, prophesying about the Lord’s coming judgment on it. In response to his close relationship with God, God essentially “raptured” him from Earth. His was a faith that was eager to be in God’s presence.
Both Abel and Enoch believed God, unlike many of their family, ancestors, or contemporaries, and this kind of faith still speaks. They lived before the Flood, preceded Abraham, and lived generations prior to the Exodus, but the limited revelation from God that they had by their lifetime was enough to change the way they lived. And I complain that God hasn’t made things clear enough for me to step out in faith!
Sometimes the step of faith He’s calling us to brings an end to something. Most endings we face regularly aren’t as drastic as loss of life - they’re just the close of a season of life. Some are predictable, but others are not. I find that it’s hardest on my faith when it seems that the song of a particular season is only half-sung when change comes, or like I’m stopping mid-stride to pivot with God’s plan. How could God use efforts that seem so “unfinished”? Abel and Enoch teach me that when things end before the time I had imagined:
Faith to the end speaks loudly in an unexpected end.
We’ll keep moving down the Hall of Faith, stopping to read the plaques and signs along the way.
For now, we’re left to ponder these questions from verses 1-7:
Do I believe the Word like my life depends on it?
If my life or a particular season of life ended suddenly tomorrow, would there be evidence from today that I lived by faith?