Our Faith

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Scripture: Hebrews 11:1-3 (ESV)

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

Devotion:

            The writer of Hebrews gives us a brief introduction to faith in this short passage. The author did not intend that this should be an exhaustive definition, but rather a short introduction to the topic. He expands on this definition by giving examples of what this faith looks like in verses 4 through 40 of this chapter. Let us consider these first three verses to see what they can teach us about faith in their own right.

            First of all, we read that faith is the “assurance of things hoped for.” Here the writer is directing us realize that faith is related to hope. Since no one hopes to receive what they already have in their possession, we can see that our faith is based, at least partially, on what we hope for in the future. The phrase “conviction of things not seen” leads us further in the path of understanding what is meant by faith. If we can see an object, we no longer accept it by faith but rather by sight.

            In verse 2, we read that those who lived before Christ were approved on the basis of their faith in God whom they had never seen. This is similar to us today. We have faith in Jesus whom we have never met, seen, or heard in person, and are justified by God because of our belief. The old covenant saints were never justified by their deeds only by their faith. So, we today are justified by faith in Jesus Christ and our works only serve to prove the genuineness of our faith.

            We take it by faith that the universe was created by the spoken word of God. What was invisible became visible through the vision and word of their Creator. Today, there are many challenges to this concept. Belief in a supernatural creation is despised by many today. Yet when all the evidence is carefully considered the case for a creator is very strong. It defies logic that this universe could have been created without someone who is extremely powerful doing the creating.

            Our faith is secure. The things which we observe in the universe speak of their creator very loudly. While we may not “know” these things in a scientific, empirical way, we can rest assured by good evidence that there is a Creator, and that this Creator can be known by faith if not by sight. Let us take a moment now to pray to our wonderful Creator God.

Prayer:

            Lord, we come to worship you whom we know by faith. We seek to live by faith in you at all times. We trust our whole life to you, and we seek to share our lives with those around us. May we make your name known wherever we go. Strengthen our weak and feeble faith, so that we can faithfully serve you and lift your holy name on high. To you O God be all glory, laud, and honor today and forever more. Amen.

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