A text – Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
11:2 Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval.
11:3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.
11:8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going.
11:9 By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.
11:10 For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11:11 By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old–and Sarah herself was barren–because he considered him faithful who had promised.
11:12 Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, “as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.”
11:13 All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth,
11:14 for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.
11:15 If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return.
11:16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.
A reflection:
I love picturing this story of Abraham, like a little movie, narrated by the writer of this letter to the Hebrew Christians. Starting with verse 9: “…he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents…” Yes, Abraham had been promised the land, but he stayed in it as a visitor, a traveler would, in tents. No dwellings with foundations, but he was looking “forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”
We can be like Abraham and Sarah and believe that God will keep God’s promises. Even if the fulfillment takes longer than we’d like and even if we die “in faith without having received the promises, from a distance we will see and greet them.” People of faith, this narrator says in verses 13-16, confess that they are “strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.” And if we believe that God will grant us that homeland, “God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.”
Next time we are tempted to be territorial and take over places and bend nature to our will, we might do well to tread lightly, live in tents, and remember we are just travelers here, traveling to the home God has prepared for us. We are just poor wayfaring strangers, as the old song says, but on our way to the city of God. Blessed beyond imagination with relationships, families we might never have had if we hadn’t met the God who has always been looking out for us and just waiting for us to believe God’s promises.
A prayer:
Dear God, thank you for loving us. Thank you for promising us full life – shalom. Help us to tread lightly, believe your promises, and stay in relationship with you and those you have given us to look after. Amen.
Short Dwellings in the Word by Dr. Pat Taylor Ellison 