"By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going." (Hebrews 11:8)
If you have never experienced this, you are missing out on one of the greatest joys of a Follower of Jesus.
"By faith," they kept at it, didn't quit, didn't give up, didn't rail on God for not doing what they expected and wanted. "By faith Abraham obeyed." This is perhaps one of the best descriptions of the life of a Follower of Jesus Christ. It does not mean that the Hebrews 11 "people" never had questions, or even some doubts and complaints, but "in the end," they did as Abraham, "....went out, not knowing where...."
This describes what Sarah and I did in 1998 when we left a "secure" pastorate with a regularly monthly salary and headed to Berlin Germany. We had not raised any "support." We had a house, car, bills, etc. Now I would not fault anyone who said that was irresponsible, but nonetheless, we did it. And we both can tell you that we have never seen, before or after, the kind of "falling into place" of everything when we, "....went out, not knowing...."
It is reported that Hitler once told Rommel, "You don't have to understand. You only have to obey." That was the kingdom of darkness version of a principle of life in Jesus Christ. Too many times we labor to understand, rather than, "....labor to enter into that rest." And I can say today that a key principle of, "....that rest," is when obedience rules over understanding, "By faith Abraham obeyed..., not knowing...."
Some have the wrong impression that the life of faith is really, for too many, a life of carelessness, irresponsibility, lack of goal-setting, planning; it very well can be, but only to those who seek their own, "not the things which are Jesus Christ's." If your life and mine are surrendered to Jesus Christ, if we walk according to His, "God-Breathed," Words and not, "lean to our own understanding," we will walk in joy, peace, victory.
Father, in Jesus' Name, I pray to walk in "responsible" faith in You. Amen.
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Another revealing article on the radical agenda of the humanists at: jhs58.blogspot.com
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
