SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 11:13 NIV All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.
THOUGHT: It strikes me that with the pandemic, we’ve been forced to get better at welcoming from a distance. You can’t even see my smile behind the mask, and my words are muffled too, with six feet and layers of protection between us.
Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and Sarah practiced a certain hospitality toward God. They couldn’t see the complete fulfillment of God’s promise – it was hidden behind the veil of time. But they knew whom they believed (2 Tim. 1:12), and lived for something bigger than getting to what was hidden.
I don’t think that was easy in any way. They weren’t somehow more capable spiritually, or less human than us. They just continued to welcome God’s presence and trust what they couldn’t see, even while acknowledging that there were things here they didn’t understand.
I’d like to be like that.
SONG: You Are Good https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=708opj5poOc
PRAYER: We welcome everything about you, God. What we see, what we’ve heard and read and believe, and even what we cannot see. Help us keep our hearts hospitable to your presence and open to hope.
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