It's gonna be a bright, bright sun-shiny, day... on this foggy Tuesday morning! Faith, the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Heb 11:1). What do we hope for? The return of Jesus of course, and the entry of our loved ones, and each of us, into that heavenly realm of God the Father. These things are promised in the Bible, but we are still here. Hope in the Bible is not the same as we often hear it spoken here in this world. Hope is a promise of God that had not yet been fulfilled. Abraham hoped for a land promised to his children by God, and indeed under Joshua the Israelites did enter into the promised land. In this world we usually hope for a big raise at our employers that will just make life so much better for us. Or worse, we hope for that big lottery ticket to hit the right numbers. These of course are wishes and wishful thinking. God's hope is a different thing entirely.
If Jesus had told me that today would be bright and sunny, I could go about singing my song with cheerful abandon. Today, with the rain and fog - and thank the Lord for the good rain we had - singing a song about a bright, sunny day might have folks calling me a loon. Jesus didn't promise a bright sunny day today, but I just feel like singing a bright sunny song. Our hope is not based on the conditions of this world, either political or meteorological. Faith in Christ and his word is not a wish, but a certainty that hasn't arrived yet.
People in this world have faith in their next paycheck, even though it has not been deposited in their bank account or clenched in the hand yet. Companies have failed to make payroll in the past and will probably do so in the future. At any moment, any employee might find himself in the position of having worked for no pay. Faith in the world's sense is more like the substance of our expectations, the evidence of what has happened in the past. Yet, these same people will then turn around and question our faith in Jesus. We all know that the world is surprising and the world's institutions cannot be depended on. However, those who believe in Jesus have the very word of God and the Spirit in their hearts reminding them of Jesus and his faithful promises. We believe and the Lord grants us certainty; something that is very hard for the world to accept.
The world would have us to reach out and shake the hand of someone in Heaven. "This is Mike, he passed on about 12 years ago. He is enjoying Heaven and you can too. Say 'hi' Mike!" Of course there would be no real faith if any of us could reach out and touch someone in Heaven. The evidence of things not seen can go either way. We don't see the powers and principalities that Paul mentioned in the unseen world, and we know that a third of them followed Satan in his rebellion against God. We are not blind to that, pun fully intended, we simply choose to follow the Son of God and love the light rather than the darkness. What does our faith in Jesus have? Substance and evidence, just like it says in Hebrews eleventy-one!
Rain or shine, the faith we have in Christ is unshaken!
Bucky
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