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Hebrews 11 There's a community swimming pool in our subdivision. People get together there to swim, to visit, and to relax after work. Yesterday I was walking by the pool and heard the sounds of children splashing happily in the pool. I heard shouts of "Marco!" "Polo!" and the loud splashes of kids jumping into the water. Do you remember the first time you jumped into a swimming pool? Maybe you were standing on the edge. Maybe you were standing on a diving board. But you faced the uncertainty of what it would be like to let go and jump into the water. I remember my first time. It was at my aunt and uncle's house. I was a young boy and my cousins were daring me to jump into the pool. I stood at the edge of the water, fidgeting, afraid of what might happen. Finally, I gathered my courage, took a deep breath, and jumped. As I came to the surface I felt the exhilaration of the cool water and the weightlessness of floating. It felt wonderful. I had crossed the boundary from the unknown into the known. Trusting in God is a lot like that. It requires a leap into the unknown. It takes a deep trust that God will be there for us. It's something that's hard to describe, but very real once you experience it. Today's scripture lesson teaches us that faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Soren Kierkegaard was a Danish philosopher who talked about taking the "leap of faith." Kierkegaard said that it's not possible to prove that God exists through reason or science. We can't prove that God exists, or that God doesn't exist. But everyone is pulled to find an answer to this question. Kierkegaard said that the only way we can prove God's existence is to begin by accepting it. This, of course, doesn't prove God's existence in a rational way. So, to believe in God requires us to make a leap of faith. It requires us to summon up our courage, take a deep breath, step off the side of the pool, and trust. Are you up to it? Today's scripture lesson teaches us several important things about the nature of our faith. I. FAITH IS MORE THAN BELIEVING IN GOD'S EXISTENCE If you read the results of the national surveys that are taken each year, you'll find that the vast majority of Americans report that they believe there is a God. The number of people who say that they believe in God is much higher than the number of people who attend church or support religious causes. But, you might say, they believe that there is a God. Isn't that faith? I don't think so. Faith requires much more. Try to apply this to your relationships with others. Let's say that Karen, my wife, came to me and asked if I believe in her. "Don," she asks, "do you believe in me." What do you suppose her response would be if I said, "Yes, Karen, I believe that you exist." You see, faith goes far beyond an expression of belief in God's existence. It also includes the assurance that God loves us and provides for us. Here's another way to look at it. Consider this stool for a moment. Now, I can ask you, "Do you have faith that this stool will hold your weight?" You might inspect the stool to check out its construction. You might think about the times that you've seen me sitting on the stool. And after thinking it over, you say, "Sure, I have faith that that stool can hold me." But if you rely on the stool to hold you up, you really haven't had faith, have you. It's not until you take the leap - not until you walk over and sit down on the stool - and maybe you lift your feet up and wiggle around - not until you take the leap of relying on the stool that you have exercised faith. Today's scripture lesson also teaches us about the future of faith: II. FAITH IS AN ASSURANCE OF OUR FUTURE WITH GOD If we look at the writings of the New Testament, we can see that the various writers talk about different aspects of faith. When Jesus asked the sick to demonstrate faith, it was simply a faith in him as a healer under the power of God. For Paul, faith was contrasted with doing good works. And Paul emphasized trusting in God's goodness, not our own. In today's scripture passage, we see yet another aspect of faith. Here faith means living with an expectation of a positive future. Without that future, the past was futile and the present without meaning. Faith is a patient, enduring hope. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for. In the Greek, the word assurance literally means a foundation, something solid that is placed underneath. In my work at Primavera Builders, we sometimes rehabilitate older homes. We are currently remodeling an adobe home in Barrio Anita that dates back to around 1900. As we began the work to reconstruct the house, we determined that some of the walls didn't have adequate foundations, or footers. In those cases, we had to remove the part of the wall that didn't have a good foundation, pour a solid concrete base, and construct a new wall. Why did we have to do that? Well, without a solid foundation, there was no hope that the wall would stand up over time. It wasn't solid and couldn't be relied on. With the new foundation, the adobe walls are strong and true and will provide a solid home for a long time to come. In the same way, our faith is the foundation on which our hope rests. Think of it this way - you're headed back to see loved ones after being away for many years. You're nearly there. You are starting to see familiar landmarks along the way. Just up the next rise in the road and you will see the old place. In a few moments you will be back again with your dear loved ones. This is the mood that the writer of Hebrews is setting. A believer, looking forward to union with God, is assured that God will be there, waiting with open arms. It was this willingness to wait for God, this eager expectation from God, that was the faith of the women and men of old. Let's talk for a minute about all the people mentioned in this passage. Why are they so important? III. THE FAITH OF OUR MOTHERS AND FATHERS WAS REWARDED Our scripture passage tells the story of two people who had faith against what seemed impossible odds. But their faith was rewarded with God's presence and gifts. The first example is Abraham. The passage tells us that Abraham looked forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. Now, Abraham believed in this in spike of the fact that he lived like a stranger in a foreign country. He didn't live in a city, but in temporary tents on land that he couldn't claim as his own. How could he possibly envision a time when Jerusalem would grow under God's guidance? Charles McCleary was a missionary in West Africa. He returned to the United States for his first furlough, or sabbatical, in order to get married. While in the U.S., he spoke to his home church in Iowa. Here's what he said: "When a bridge is built, some foundation stones must be laid beneath the water. If God wills that I should be one of the stones, laid out of sight in this African church, I am ready." Six months after returning to West Africa, Charles was dead from fever. But, his work lived on. His widow served there for the rest of her life. And the church that he started grew to become a flourishing center of the gospel for that entire region. So, when Abraham got to the promised land, what happened? There wasn't a place he could call his own. He had to live in tents. It must have seemed like God hadn't kept the promise. But Abraham didn't give up his faith. Instead, he looked to the future. He knew that his faith was in the God who would build the city with strong foundations. Faith in the future rests on faith in God, by whose grace and wisdom the coming city will be built. Then we have the story of Sarah. And, I have to say that I'm glad she is mentioned in today's scripture. Because her story shows us that even the faith of the skeptical is rewarded. Do you remember the story of Sarah? Sarah was well past childbearing age and she had no children. When she heard the news that God would give her a child in her old age, what did she do? Did she break into a dance of celebration? No. Did she praise God for this wonderful gift? No. Sarah laughed. The whole idea seemed so preposterous that she laughed out loud at the very thought. But, when she became convinced that it was God who promised this child, her laughter stopped. Because she considered God faithful. Sarah was about to become the mother of a great people that would be as many as the stars of heaven. Through the Hebrew people, God would make his revelation to all the world. And from this people would one day come Jesus. So, these people of faith are very important. Because, in God's world, if we are faithful, we can serve as tools for changing the course of history. This is part of the reward of those who are certain of what we hope for, who are certain of what we do not see.
Have you taken the leap? Kierkegaard, the philosopher who talked about taking the leap of faith, believed that this is a very personal decision. He didn't believe a person could arrive at faith by adopting a set of correct beliefs. In his writings he attacked the Danish church because he thought it relied too heavily on authority and orthodoxy instead of individual personal experience. Only through "a leap of faith," as he called it, could a person become a Christian - he taught that this is an experience that each of us must encounter on our own. If we choose faith, we are making a commitment to an uncertainty that can't be proven by science. Since God is separate from us, there is a canyon that can only be bridged by faith. We can't make our Christianity into a rational argument. Instead, our faith that we can have a relationship with God is founded on a commitment that has no conclusive evidence. Faith is a risk. On that day when I finally summoned up the courage to leap into the swimming pool, I was overjoyed with the experience. I turned toward my cousins who were still standing on the edge of the pool. Know what I said? "Come on in, the water's fine." |