By Faith Part III
Up to this point in Hebrews 11 we have seen many examples of faith and how it is played out in the life of God’s people. In essence, we have been given a “Hall of Fame of Faithful Followers of God”.
As we enter into the last section of chapter 11 we see that amazing things have happened to some of God’s people and that major suffering has come to others. I believe the author of Hebrews is wants us to understand that neither earthly success nor suffering should be the ultimate goal of a believer. We shouldn’t necessarily look to our success as a sign of victory or our suffering as a sign of approval.
The end goal of faith should be God’s glory. That alone is more important than success or suffering. We need to be careful not to look to our success as a sign of God’s approval or suffering as the only way to be faithful to God. Too far in either direction can take our focus off of the “assurance of things hoped for”.
Don’t get me wrong – in this life of faith there will be times of victory where God allows us to be a part of his incredible work. There will also be times where we will suffer because the world doesn’t approve of our faith in Christ. However, in all of it, we need to keep our focus on Christ and his glory.
I hope you will join us this Sunday as we finish up Hebrews 11!