Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 (NRSV)
Read Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 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 8By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. Verse 9By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. Verse 10For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. Verse 11By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old-and Sarah herself was barren-because he considered him faithful who had promised. Verse 12Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, "as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore." 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.
Devotion
My great-great-grandfather left drought-afflicted Germany in 1851 and emigrated to Ohio. Vacationing in Germany in 2000, I researched local records and discovered he was one of many who, faced with certain hunger if they remained, left for an uncertain future in the USA, Argentina, Brazil, or Australia. What must they have thought and felt, leaving home, family, and friends, never to return? I can only imagine the sense of loss, anxiety, and uncertainty Johann Christian felt as he left Le Havre on that sailing ship.
Abram and his family left everything familiar and secure in obedience to God. The author of Hebrews makes that they were only able to move because God first swore a covenant with them, promising to prepare a new city and to secure their future.
God's baptismal covenant secures for us a future made certain by Christ. Though each day brings new challenges and uncertainties, we need not fret or despair. The outcome is certain, and with the Spirit's abiding presence, each day we can celebrate that we are God's children — heirs of the kingdom.
Prayer
O God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (ELW, p. 317)