Hebrews 11
So, how’s your faith? How often have you heard that? Do you live in your faith, or tell people you have faith? There can be a big difference.
Faith can be one of the most monotonous or mountainous aspects of, well, our faith. As Christians, we may feel we have faith because that’s what Christians are supposed to have. Faith can be like driving a car that has tires. Riding on them over and over again each day, we can take our tires for granted. Some would argue if the tires are on the car and nothing seems to be loud or wobbly, this is faith. Or, you could care for your faith like you would a good set of tires. You ride on it, challenge it, put the brakes on it, speed it up or slow it down, rotate it, and yes…even change it.
In the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, the writer is calling attention to the faith of our faith. It’s faith that makes the difference. It always has, and always will. I love this line in verse 32, “I could speak more of faith; I could talk of it until time itself ran out.” Faith never stops. It pushes us, prods us and carries us forward. In verses 33 and 34, the writer describes faith as living, “I could give accounts of people alive with faith who conquered kingdoms, brought justice, obtained promises, and closed the mouths of hungry lions. I could tell you how people of faith doused raging fires, escaped the edge of the sword, made the weak strong, and—stoking great valor among the champions of God—sent opposing armies into panicked flight.”
The faith of our faith is made so clear in verse 1, “Faith is the assurance of things you have hoped for, the absolute conviction that there are realities you’ve never seen.” Is your faith faithful? Are you in the faith, or among the faith? Claiming faith and living faith, although closely related, can be the difference in knowing about God and experiencing God.
“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” — C.S. Lewis