Faith is the assurance of things HOPED for, the conviction of things UNSEEN. By it the people of old were pleasing to God. We are called to walk by FAITH and not by sight. We have never seen God. But we believe He exists and that He will reward those who live by faith in Him (Hebrews 11:6). We haven’t seen Heaven. We haven’t seen Jesus. We cannot comprehend eternity or the resurrection. But by God’s Word we are convicted. We are assured. We have hope of the things unseen. We will see it. We will see God. Father along. But this is our challenge. It is our test. Will we live by faith and not by sight? Do we trust what God has told us even though we haven’t seen it? Are we living in the hope for something greater than what we can see now?
Enter Abraham. You want to talk about someone who had faith in the unseen, then walk in Abraham’s shoes for a while. God came to Abraham in Genesis 12 and told Abraham to go to a new land that God would show him. Abraham knew nothing about this land. He had never seen it. He probably never traveled there. He was told to uproot everything and travel to the unknown. His family. His possessions. His whole life. God made promises to Abraham. That his descendants would have the land of Canaan. God would make of him a great nation. Abraham would never see any of that. But he had faith it would happen. In fact, he had faith in what would be provided in eternity.
This is what the Hebrew writer said about Abraham, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:8-10). Abraham didn’t know where he was going. But he knew that if he followed God in faith that he would be eternally blessed. He would have to live like a foreigner. But he knew of the home he would receive with God in eternity. Abraham taught his family to live by that same faith. Abraham had faith. He walked by faith. Because of his faith he had hope. He had God.
God has called us to turn away from sin and live by His standard of righteousness. He has promised us Heaven. He promises us His love and forgiveness. Do we believe it? Are we living by faith in God and what He has told us? We are to live by faith and not by sight. We haven’t seen Heaven with our own eyes. But through the Word and promise of God we see it clearly by our faith. Seeing isn’t believing. Believing is seeing. Trust God. Believe God. Live for God. Walk by faith. If we walk by faith then we will be in Heaven with Abraham.
A Cord of Blue 