Before this post really begins I want to let you know that I have no plan as to how many parts this will entail. I have been reading Hebrews and have found there is a lot that God has laid on my heart from this book. If any of it is glaringly obvious to you then you should relish in the joy you can glean from having the Lord reveal this part of himself to you already. For me it seems fresh and new and exciting. Not completely unknown, but seen with fresh eyes. I would say I have done an embarrassing amount of passage highlighting lately, but I am not actually embarrassed. I am amazed at the wealth I have found. I hope this blesses someone else as richly as it has blessed me. And so, I begin.
While I have found this whole book relevant and interesting, I have gleaned much from chapters 10-13. So. Much. Information. I am starting this series (?) with 11, the “faith” chapter. I love how this is worded, the bountiful message it conveys with what I read as great passion and conviction. Verses 13-16 speak to me. They call me to greater conviction, to deeper devotion. They give me a better understanding of my place here in this world.
All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised ; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
Every time I read it I am struck by my own attachment and connection to this earthly home. Do I feel like an alien? Do I long for a country of my own? Am I seeking my blessings and rewards here, or am I longing anxiously for the place that is to come? There are so many flaws in my daily approach when held up to this idea. I am comfortable here, I look anxiously for rewards here. I do not place the value I should in heaven. To be honest, sometimes the idea of heaven is intimidating to me. I sometimes become concerned with living forever. What am I going to do forever? That seems so long and monotonous sometimes. To the point that it makes me the bad kind of anxious. But that is just what Satan wants, for me to feel uneasy about heaven. For then he has won. He has turned my eyes and mind from the goodness that is my God. I long to live a life that does not make my Father ashamed. I need to remember that to be with Him is to be partaking of all that is good, all that is holy, all that is glorious. I need to keep my heart focussed on the things that I am promised when I finally do enter that city that is my home. My heart needs to long to be in the presence of God. My mind needs to think of this place as a foreign city, as if I were just on a prolonged and strange and sometimes difficult trip. I need to be aware of the pitfalls and traps that will distract me. I need to be mindful that my home is greater. That this is a life to be endured not fully enjoyed. For the real joy is far greater and dwells in a more beautiful place. If only I had of sought this truth earlier. I wouldn’t have been as concerned about how many friends I had, how well I fit in, how likeable I was. But today I begin to choose to change. Today I begin to choose a different perspective. Today I choose to live for life eternal. How amazing. My God will not be ashamed to be called my God. Not if I can help it.
faith from the stove 