January 14

Abel’s lessons in Faith

               Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.  This is what the ancients were commended for.  By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.  By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did.  By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings.  And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.   

Hebrews 11:1-4

Abel’s big claim to fame is usually that he was the first murder victim.  Not the best thing to put onto a resume, but that is about all that could be said for someone who showed up in four verses from the Old Testament.  The author of Hebrews, however, found something else extraordinary about Abel.  He was the first man to show great faith.  He was born after the Fall.  He and his brother spent their whole lives learning how to cultivate the ground and domesticate animals in a wild new world. 

When it came time to give an offering to the Lord, Abel was faced with a choice.  He could give of the best or he could give of the rest.  He could make an offering of the weak, the sick or the old from his flocks.  Animals don’t just grow on trees or from the ground.  To grow a herd requires passing on the strongest traits to each successive generation and every animal requires significant investment.  It would make the most sense, for the good of the flock and for his chances of survival in the world, for him to sacrifice a creature that he could spare.

Instead he gave his very best.  He sacrificed what he could least afford to lose because he believed that it was God who held the key to his future, not the size of his herd or the skill of his hands.  He believed.  He had Faith.  And God called him righteous…in a right relationship with his creator and his world.

Faith is being certain of what we cannot prove and acting accordingly.  Has that concept been exploited and manipulated through the years?  Definitely.  Is there any room in Faith for questions or investigation?  Absolutely.  At the center of my faith exist two core principles:  God exists and He makes Himself known to us.  Can I prove those things?  I can show evidence that supports them, but I have not a mathematical theorem or objective proof that will force people to agree with me.  So I believe that God exists even though I cannot see Him and I try to discover more and more about who He has revealed himself to be and I find Jesus and an invitation to follow the Jesus Way.  And from that Way I discover God’s deep and abiding love for me and for all of humanity.  I discover the core of man’s brokenness and its only cure.  I discover a promise for eternal life where all sorrow and pain and disability will be wiped away and I say, “Yes.  That is what I want.  That is what I believe.  And that is what I am willing to dedicate my life towards.”

Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

A moment to reflect:

What do you believe even though you cannot prove it?

Refrigerator Art of the Day:

D age 9