Hebrews 11:1-3, 13-19 (NRSV)
Read Hebrews 11:1-3, 13-19 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 11Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Verse 2Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. Verse 3By 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. Verse 13All 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, Verse 14for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. Verse 15If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. Verse 16But 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. Verse 17By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son, Verse 18of whom he had been told, "It is through Isaac that descendants shall be named for you." Verse 19He considered the fact that God is able even to raise someone from the dead-and figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.
Devotion
It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. I’ll believe it if I can see it. “I’m from Missouri,” said Harry S. Truman. “Show me!” bellowed Eliza Doolittle to Henry Higgins. “Unless I see…I will not believe,” huffed Thomas in the upper room after the resurrection. We know that cameras can lie and images can be manipulated; still, we insist on visible, tangible proof before we commit ourselves or our money. Yet the author of Hebrews turns our predilections upside down. By faith, he insists, we believe in the creative word of God. By faith we confess belief in one God the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. By faith we stand in line with Abraham, who was asked to consider that God is able even to raise someone from the dead. Faith is worth more than a thousand pictures.
Prayer
God of all creation, cure our short-sightedness. Help us walk by faith and not by sight so that we may truly see your glorious light. Amen.