Devotion 9 – Persevering Faith (2) – An Eternity Mindset
Devotion 10 – Persevering Faith (2) – An
Eternity Mindset
Heb.11:8-16
– “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out
to the place which he would receive as an inheritance…. By
faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign
country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him
of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has
foundations, whose builder and maker is God… These
all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen
them afar off were assured of them,
embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and
pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare
plainly that they seek a homeland… they desire a better,
that is, a heavenly country. Therefore, God is not
ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.”
Abraham,
Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, Rachel, Leah, and all their families, died
without receiving the promises. In fact, no significant part of
Canaan was held by Abraham’s descendants until Israel’s return under the
leadership of Joshua after their captivity in Egypt.
What
does it mean when the Scripture says that they, “having
seen them afar off, were assured of them, embraced them…”? The word “embrace” can be literally translated as “hug” based on the
original text. Though faith
cannot be seen through the eyes of the flesh; they are nevertheless real. So, by faith, the patriarchs cut the ties that bound them
to the present world in which they lived and gave themselves over to that which
God said was to belong to them and their descendants in the generations to
come.
Like
our ancestors, we ought to hold loosely to the things of this fallen world and
“hug” tightly the eternal Kingdom and willingly live as “strangers” and
“pilgrims” in this present world that everyone else calls “home”.
Gal.6:14
– “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to
me, and I to the world”
Phil.3:8 – “Yet
indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of
the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all
things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ…”
If we
want to walk as “strangers” and “pilgrims”, we must not let our heart be bound
to this earth. Paul was crucified to the world and counted all things “loss” and “rubbish” for the promise
of Christ. What he perceived produced his
perspective. He believed God for the future and this made a profound difference
in his worldview.
When we have an “eternal perspective”, it empowers us to
make “temporal” decisions in the light of eternal realities and help us to be
mindful to put “last things” (Eternity) first!
C. S. Lewis said it aptly in his book “Mere Christianity”
and “The Joyful Christian”:
“If you read history, you
will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just
those who thought the most of the next…. It is since Christians have largely
ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in
this.”
“Aim at Heaven and you will
get Earth 'thrown in': aim at Earth and you will get neither.”
In other words, those with a biblical eternal perspective
do the most good in and for the temporal world. May we too be energised with an
eternal mindset!
Phil.1:21-24
- “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the
flesh, this will mean fruit from my labour; yet what I shall choose I cannot
tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to
depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless, to remain in the
flesh is more needful for you”
Paul was
saying that if he had the choice, he would choose to be put to death, because
he so longed to be with Jesus, but, if he were spared and lived, he could bear
more fruit for Christ and it was hard for him to choose between the two. True saving faith changes our desire and values - a new
kind of life emerges and seeks a new satisfaction which is out of sync with the
world. We will be so gripped by God that nothing short of heaven would satisfy.
Not Ashamed to be Called our God
Did or did not Receive the Promised
Heb.11:13
– “These all died in faith, not having received the promises…”
Heb.6:15
– “And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained
the promise...”
Heb.11:17
– “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up
Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only
begotten son…”
The above scripture seems to
contradict each other. So, in what sense did the patriarchs receive as well as
not receive the promises?
The patriarchs did not receive the
total fulfilment of God’s promises in this life, they only received a taste of
them. Abraham and Sarah received the promised son, but they died only with two
heirs, Isaac and Jacob, and not the innumerable nations with “descendants like the stars of heavens and like the sand on
the seashore” as promised
in Genesis 12 and 22.
Many do not have the persevering faith because the
substance of hope is not properly developed in us. When trials and tribulation
come, we abort the substance of hope (the promises in the Scripture) easily, we
compromise and choose the easy way out.
The book of Hebrews talks about a people of faith
and hope. These patriarchs, these heroes who have gone before us, they are
people of faith because they believed God and His promises. They are people of
hope because they did not live for what they could see; but for what was to
come. They did not mind that they were despised and downtrodden and forsaken in
this world. They did not mind that they were strangers and pilgrims. They did
not mind all that they had to go through because they did not live for the “there
and then”. Their eternity mindset anchored their souls amid the storms of life
on earth.
If we want to cultivate hopefulness, we need to
first cultivate patience and perseverance!
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