Hebrews 11:3, 7
By faith, we see the world called into existence by God’s word, what we see created by what we don’t see.
By
faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land. He was warned about
something he couldn’t see, and acted on what he was told. The result?
His family was saved. His act of faith drew a sharp line between the
evil of the unbelieving world and the rightness of the believing world.
As a result, Noah became intimate with God.
Scripture
quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002
by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs,
CO. All rights reserved.
A very tired Timothy had a
tearful conversation with me as I drove the children home
yesterday…about our cat Lucy – and heaven. Timothy did not feel all
that well – and he had not napped, so he was really tired. But he
started by asking about Lucy - and crying because she is gone…and where
was Heaven, anyway? Then he wanted to know what it would be like
there…would we be hungry? How many children does God have…and will we
know anybody there? It was all the convoluted (and somewhat
melodramatic) thoughts of a weary child…but aren’t we all that way at
times?!
Recently, I watched the movie Evan Almighty,
starring Steve Carell and Morgan Freeman. This movie is a modern-day
take on the story of Noah and the ark. What it vividly brings home to
us is the idea of just how crazy people would think we were if God spoke
to us and told us to buy several acres of land and construct an
ark…then animals started showing up in pairs to fill it! We have a hard
time imagining how insane this seemed in Noah’s day…but somehow seeing
it in movie form today helps us to get a handle on the concept. And it
is indeed one that blows our minds!
Now I don’t think that God is
ever going to tell us to build an ark in preparation for a 40-day
flood. But I am almost 100% certain that He will call on us to believe
things…and do things…that have us asking, “Whaaaaa???” to use
present-day vernacular! And surely, we have questions…about Heaven in
particular – and lots of earthly situations, as well!
The
long-ago example of Noah demonstrates to us that faithfulness in a God
we cannot see - and answering His call when the summons seems
preposterous or impossible - will result in immeasurable rewards and
blessings. God is real…even though we cannot see Him. Heaven is
real…even though all we know of it is what we read in God’s Holy Word. I
assured Timothy that Heaven is beautiful…that Lucy is there sitting on
God’s lap, and she is FINE - fed and so very happy! And we will be
happy there, too, when God sends for us.
But I also pointed out
to Timothy that he has a lot of things to do here before he goes to
heaven. And so do you and I! The time has come for us to get busy
doing them! Are you listening for God’s voice and following His lead?
Are you “playing Christian”…or are you truly hard at it serving God and
representing Christ’s teachings to others?
Do you love others –
even when it doesn’t make sense and/or you would like to strangle a few
of them? Do you bite your tongue and speak of God’s love when you
would really rather give some folks a piece of your mind? Are you
accepting of ALL of God’s children, as Jesus commanded…or do you pick
and choose which races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, political
affiliations, religious beliefs, and socio-economic statuses you will
include in your “circle of love and tolerance?”
Do you truly
believe in an unseen God…and are you really ready to go “all in” and
follow Him completely? Will this be the day that you truly take that
“leap of faith” and begin? As much as I believe in God and the reality
of Heaven, I believe that I will have to answer for how I trusted Him in
this lifetime. And you will have to do the same. When we finally see
God face-to-face, I believe that He will ask us about how faithful we
were to Him…and our response will be important. What will you have to
say for yourself? Are YOU intimate with God and listening for His
voice? Don’t you think you should be?
©2015 Debbie Robus
No comments:
Post a Comment