Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.  (Hebrews 11:1)

In this chapter, the writer shows that all of scripture points toward the one thing – the main thing. Faith. The next chapter will tell us how we do this – how we have faith. In this chapter, we are shown how faith was central in the lives of even the most unlikely of people.

I am reflecting on this chapter as I prepare to speak at a memorial service later today. It is always a defining moment. At death, do you believe in what you cannot see? So often, I am part of remembering a person who could not only see but lived with great hope in what was not yet but would be. In spite of the circumstances of life that would have turned many people away from God (in the face of bad things happening to good people many reject God), they found faith that would carry them through the circumstances toward an enduring hope now and forever. To be able to stand and honor such a person, gives me great confidence that I too can be sure of what cannot be seen – faith and hope that will not disappoint me. Forever.

Today’s scripture: Isaiah 19-21; Hebrews 11