Faith Is Proof
We often think that seeing is believing, but what about the things we cannot see? We believe in God because the Holy Spirit shows us God’s nature. We see evidence of God’s great love for us in how he created the world. Scientists try to explain all the mysteries of life, but they cannot explain the human soul.
The wonder of faith is that it requires us to trust what we can’t physically see or explain. This chapter gives us great examples of many people who demonstrated the kind of faith that we need to cultivate. Rather than try to explain everything in our lives, let’s try being amazed at our God who offers many wonderful things to those who have faith in him.
Having Faith…
To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see.
It was by their faith that people of ancient times won God’s approval. It is by faith that we understand that the universe was created by God’s word, so that what can be seen was made out of what cannot be seen.
It was faith that made Abel offer to God a better sacrifice than Cain’s. Through his faith he won God’s approval as a righteous man, because God himself approved of his gifts. By means of his faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
It was faith that kept Enoch from dying. Instead, he was taken up to God, and nobody could find him, because God had taken him up. The scripture says that before Enoch was taken up, he had pleased God. No one can please God without faith, for whoever comes to God must have faith that God exists and rewards those who seek him.
It was faith that made Noah hear God’s warnings about things in the future that he could not see. He obeyed God and built a boat in which he and his family were saved. As a result, the world was condemned, and Noah received from God the righteousness that comes by faith.
It was faith that made Abraham obey when God called him to go out to a country which God had promised to give him. He left his own country without knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as a foreigner in the country that God had promised him. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who received the same promise from God. For Abraham was waiting for the city which God has designed and built, the city with permanent foundations.
