As I glance at the beginning of Hebrews 12 again today, this thought flits through my mind:
The first verse of Hebrews 12 starts with “Therefore”. I always look back to see what it is “there for”. I see that chapter 11 is entitled, “Faith in Action”, and notes what we call “heroes of the faith.” These are men and women who were true to the faith in extreme circumstances. The last two sentences of Hebrews 11 states: “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”
That made me curious about today’s definition of Hero. This is what I found:
Hero: noun, plural heroes
1. a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.
2. a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal:
He was a local hero when he saved the drowning child.
3. the principal male character in a story, play, film, etc.
4. Classical Mythology.
6. the bread or roll used in making a hero sandwich.
So now I want a sandwich.
Anyway, back to the thoughts flitting through my head that were pushed out at the thought of a hero sandwich:
In Chapter 11 of Hebrews, we read about people that are admired, but never accomplished what we consider necessary for present esteemed heroes. All they were was faithful.
My curiosity took me to the synonyms of faithful:
Ardent
Conscientious
Dependable
Devoted
Dutiful
Hard-Core
Honest
Honorable
Loving
Obedient
Patriotic
Resolute
Scrupulous
Sincere
Staunch
Steadfast
True
Trustworthy
And the list goes on.
I think that the heroes of Hebrews 11 were all of those things. They were not easily moved from what they believe. I wonder if I could think of a list of people with those qualities. It seems like those virtues are hard to come by. I would love to be known as that, yet my flesh is weak and I feel like the Apostle Paul who wrote in Romans 7: 21-24:
“So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?”
Spoken with true frustration. It is said that “the harder we try the behinder we get”. That is what Paul was feeling, and I feel that too. He did come to a wonderful conclusion in verse 25: “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
He knew, and I know, that we really can’t be faithful or upright or sincere or trustworthy 100% of the time without divine intervention.
The ‘heroes’ of the faith who were tortured, sawed in two, burned to death, put in prison, considered outcasts and never saw the promises to come, were a cut above the rest, and that is why they were mentioned.
My prayer is that I will remain faithful to God and to what I believe no matter what confronts me. This doesn’t mean that I will not ever be frightened. Over and over God says to His people, do not be afraid, I think because He knows they will be tempted to be afraid. It does not mean I will be spared all hardship and stress. It does mean that I will call upon God immediately and not try to do it by myself. This is the only conclusion at which I can arrive when it comes to the heroes of the faith. They learned the lessons of life and applied them. Go to God FIRST, not when everything else has been exhausted.
So today my prayer is to be faithful, to be trustworthy and to be diligent and dutiful in my walk with Jesus. It’s my prayer for you as well. May God’s love so fill you that you walk in God-confidence, that no matter what happens in your life, God will look at you and say, you’re My hero.
The first verse of Hebrews 12 starts with “Therefore”. I always look back to see what it is “there for”. I see that chapter 11 is entitled, “Faith in Action”, and notes what we call “heroes of the faith.” These are men and women who were true to the faith in extreme circumstances. The last two sentences of Hebrews 11 states: “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”
That made me curious about today’s definition of Hero. This is what I found:
Hero: noun, plural heroes
1. a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.
2. a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal:
He was a local hero when he saved the drowning child.
3. the principal male character in a story, play, film, etc.
4. Classical Mythology.
- a being of godlike prowess and beneficence who often came to be honored as a divinity.
- (in the Homeric period) a warrior-chieftain of special strength, courage, or ability.
- (in later antiquity) an immortal being; demigod.
6. the bread or roll used in making a hero sandwich.
So now I want a sandwich.
Anyway, back to the thoughts flitting through my head that were pushed out at the thought of a hero sandwich:
In Chapter 11 of Hebrews, we read about people that are admired, but never accomplished what we consider necessary for present esteemed heroes. All they were was faithful.
My curiosity took me to the synonyms of faithful:
Ardent
Conscientious
Dependable
Devoted
Dutiful
Hard-Core
Honest
Honorable
Loving
Obedient
Patriotic
Resolute
Scrupulous
Sincere
Staunch
Steadfast
True
Trustworthy
And the list goes on.
I think that the heroes of Hebrews 11 were all of those things. They were not easily moved from what they believe. I wonder if I could think of a list of people with those qualities. It seems like those virtues are hard to come by. I would love to be known as that, yet my flesh is weak and I feel like the Apostle Paul who wrote in Romans 7: 21-24:
“So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?”
Spoken with true frustration. It is said that “the harder we try the behinder we get”. That is what Paul was feeling, and I feel that too. He did come to a wonderful conclusion in verse 25: “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
He knew, and I know, that we really can’t be faithful or upright or sincere or trustworthy 100% of the time without divine intervention.
The ‘heroes’ of the faith who were tortured, sawed in two, burned to death, put in prison, considered outcasts and never saw the promises to come, were a cut above the rest, and that is why they were mentioned.
My prayer is that I will remain faithful to God and to what I believe no matter what confronts me. This doesn’t mean that I will not ever be frightened. Over and over God says to His people, do not be afraid, I think because He knows they will be tempted to be afraid. It does not mean I will be spared all hardship and stress. It does mean that I will call upon God immediately and not try to do it by myself. This is the only conclusion at which I can arrive when it comes to the heroes of the faith. They learned the lessons of life and applied them. Go to God FIRST, not when everything else has been exhausted.
So today my prayer is to be faithful, to be trustworthy and to be diligent and dutiful in my walk with Jesus. It’s my prayer for you as well. May God’s love so fill you that you walk in God-confidence, that no matter what happens in your life, God will look at you and say, you’re My hero.
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