Sunday Sentiments: A Wild Kind of Faith

 

Happy New Year, my friends!

Throughout 2022, I slowly crept through the book of Genesis, studying in greater depth than I ever have before, how Creation began and how God established humanity and cultivated relationships with His people. I don't say this in a boastful way, but simply as a fact: I knew Genesis quite well before I began the study. I knew the flow of the accounts and even the trivia, like Joseph's Egyptian-issued name of Zaphenath-paneah. Even so, I had much to learn, and that's exactly what I did throughout the entire year.

I studied backgrounds and cultural traditions. I discovered connections I'd never made before. But most of all, I learned these dear people, who lived out long and short lives without the benefit of history preceding them to guide their decisions. 

If you're familiar with the Bible, you might know that in the book of Hebrews (which at last year's pace, I wouldn't get to until...well..into my eighties) has a chapter that has been dubbed the "Hall of Faith." Hebrews 11 opens with the very definition of faith: the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. And then it unfolds a whole list of people who lived faith-filled lives. Most of those listed by name are the same people I studied in 2022.

As I skipped ahead to read this chapter last week, I thought through each of those accounts from Genesis.

BY FAITH, Abel offered a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain.

BY FAITH, Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death. 

BY FAITH, Noah...constructed an ark for the saving of his household.

BY FAITH, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance.

BY FAITH, Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age.

BY FAITH, Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau.

BY FAITH, Joseph...made mention of the Exodus.

It is true! All these men and women demonstrated what I would consider tremendous faith in the face of difficult and sometimes impossible circumstances. But I also believe that each of them was, in those faith-saturated moments, simply living to the best of their ability.

Abel was just bringing before God what he knew he should. He wasn't looking to see what Cain was bringing or how either of their offerings compared. He was just worshiping God. Enoch was just living out every day with integrity. He wasn't hoping for a pass on death - or even aware it was an option. He was just walking with God. Noah didn't set out to build the world's largest structure. He just did what God told him to do. Abraham didn't worry about how the extended family would feel about his departure to unknown lands. He just went. Sarah struggled to find the news of her impending motherhood even believable, and yet she eventually wrapped her mind around the belief it could be true and ended up having a baby. Isaac fell victim to the deceit of his own son, but he held fast to the blessings he offered. Joseph lived a most unexpected life with more than his share of heartache mixed in, but he never stopped believing God was with him. Because of him, thousands of people lived through a dreadful famine - including God's covenant people. 

These people - these heroes of the faith - didn't do anything spectacular in their own eyes. they just lived. They just did the best they could to honor God, even if they sometimes did so imperfectly. And yet those very acts of faith led their names to be included among those we should strive to emulate.

This is the wild kind of faith I long to have. Wildly ordinary. Wildly consistent. Wildly obedient.