Hebrews 11:1-22
Today’s first verse: Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (v. 1) Faith is an assurance and a conviction – an assurance (a promise) from someone else (God) and a conviction within ourselves that the promise will come true. Essentially we believe that the One who made the promise is worthy of our trust. Faith is also “hoped for, …[but]… not seen”. Reality is absent in our sphere of faith. There may be evidences of different things that strengthen that faith, but the faith itself is “blind”. I believe that the sun will rise tomorrow, but that’s not faith. That is the reality of my observing every prior day of my life that the sun had come up and that the sun very likely will come up again tomorrow.
Jesus’ death was a reality event, but our belief in His resurrection is based on faith. There were bystanders at the cross, people who witnessed that historical event. But there was no one at the tomb when Jesus rose from the dead. We have evidence of His resurrection – historical records in the Gospels, peoples’ lives changed, etc. – but our belief in His bodily resurrection is a faith item for us. And our (corporate) faith in that one event is and has been enough to change the world. Embrace that thought when you wonder about your own “faith”.
See also: December 5 / Hebrews 11:1-12; December 6 / Hebrews 11:13-22