Living by faith

Living by faith. It sounds grand and adventurous. And, in a sense, it is. But in another way, it’s an ordinary day-by-day process.

‘Father Abraham’ was the topic of an English class I taught recently. I, for one, was encouraged and challenged by a fresh look at this extraordinary and yet somewhat ordinary man who lived four millennia ago. We took Hebrews 11:8-19 as our text, using the New International Reader’s Version. That version is ideal for English language learners because it minimises the hurdle of uncommon words and convoluted sentences. 

Let me share with you a few insights which I gained from our lesson on this ‘hero of the faith’. I know that the students learnt lots of new vocabulary. They had opportunities to use English in real communication. I wonder if they learnt as much as I did , though, about living by faith? I wonder, too, if you will glean a few fresh insights by reading along as well?

Foundations

It’s the lack of indoor plumbing which would disgruntle me. Not that they likely even had indoor plumbing back in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) where Abram spent his first 70 years. Hebrews 11, however, makes a bigger deal about the foundations of the city dwellings Abram called ‘home’ back then. (Abraham and Sarah were known as ‘Abram’ and ‘Sarai’ for most of their lives.)

In response to God’s call, Abram moved his family from homes with foundations into tents. It wasn’t just a camping trip. No – this was to become the ‘new normal’. They would be nomads for the rest of their lives. Mostly, anyhow. 

There were a few occasions along the way when various family members moved into sturdy houses. Lot and his family settled in the city of Sodom for a season. That ended badly. Very badly. Abram took his beautiful wife and settled in Egypt for a bit, during which time Sarai was ‘invited’ to live in the palace as a guest of the Pharaoh himself – an invitation which couldn’t be refused (Genesis 12). That the elderly couple’s half-truths resulted in a similar scenario being played out again at the invitation of another king (Genesis 20) hardly seems appropriate for a hero of the faith. The ‘stuff-ups’ made by Abraham and Sarah give me hope that my relationship with God isn’t based on me having it all together. 

The contrast between the settled lifestyle Abraham enjoyed the first half of his life and the nomadic nature of the second half makes me think of the lifestyle of Tibetans. Traditionally, Tibetans have either been either nomads or settled farmers. The two groups are fairly distinct. These days, however, there is also a significant Tibetan diaspora living outside the country, hoping vehemently to return one day to their homeland. 

Abraham went from being a settler in a house with foundations to a nomad living in tents. This was not because it was thrust upon him, but because of a call from God himself. He left his home willingly, but according to the writer of the letter to the Hebrews, his focus was on becoming a city-dweller again one day. We catch a glimpse of the city that he longed for in the book of Revelation.

Kids

It doesn’t make sense. How can you be promised descendants and a nation when you’re an old man and childless? Yet he was. Believing that promise made Abraham a hero of the faith. 

Not that he was perfect in the way he believed. Going along with his wife’s plan of how to bring about God’s promised miracle by their own means wasn’t one of his smarter moves. The resulting dysfunction in his family was crazily messy, though it did result in a precious revelation of God. The Creator revealed himself to Abraham’s second wife as ‘El Roi – the God who sees me’ (Genesis 16).

Finally, Isaac was born – the child whose name means ‘laughter’. At the time, the aged Sarah said, “God has given laughter to me. Everyone who hears about this will laugh with me” (Genesis 21:5 NIRV). I envy the blessing bestowed on the elderly lady, but don’t envy the ensuing complications in her life. And can you imagine what Sarah had to say when she heard details after Isaac got home from the expedition with his father to make that special sacrifice to God … the time when Isaac so almost WAS that sacrifice? What would a child psychologist make of that experience? 

In all that, Abraham and Sarah were held up as heroes of the faith. Once again, I am reminded that living by faith means trusting in Almighty God … but it doesn’t mean that I need to have my act together. I want to, and I try to, but I’m as human and complicated as elderly Sarah was. Yet, despite our imperfections, like Abraham’s rejected and dejected second wife, we are also known by El Roi, the God who sees us. 

Thinking and talking

The way Abraham and Sarah thought and talked about God’s promises demonstrated their faith (Hebrews 11:13b-16a). Thoughts precede action. Just ask any dieter about the importance of managing our thoughts if we are to gain control over what goes in our mouths. In more important matters, not only did Abraham and Sarah keep their thoughts fixed on what God had promised, but they also talked in a way that reflected their mindset. 

The Bible teaches us a lot about the importance of managing our thought lives. We are told to meditate on the Law of God (eg Psalm 1:2), to renew our minds (Romans 12:2), to think about things that are good (Philippians 4:8) and more. It seems, from what the writer to the Hebrews has to say about it, that this discipline of thinking godly thoughts and talking out of that mindset is a key aspect of living by faith.

How is my thought life? Some days, it doesn’t take much for me to spin into a frazzle of worry about money or health or frustration at the mess at home or my inability to achieve perfectionistic goals. While such matters will likely always hover around the periphery of my thought life, I want to make an unswerving focus on God the centre. I hope that the way I talk even about money matters or health concerns or mess or unmet expectations will reflect my relationship with El Roi, the God who sees me.

Abraham and Sarah didn’t have it all together, but even in the messiness of life, they lived by faith. As heroes of the faith, they are models for us fallen, broken people, for we have also been invited into a relationship with the God of Abraham, the God who sees us. As we bumble through life, sometimes getting a little off track but drawn back by a faithful and patient God time after time, may we also live by faith and so be examples to others who come after us.