Theological Commentary: Click Here
Discipleship Focus: Identity
- Identity: Our true identity comes from the Father. Only when our identity comes from God can we be obedient in ways that satisfy our person to our core.
It’s rather
easy to hear that faith is the central concept of this chapter. All of the people mentioned in this chapter
lived by faith. They lived knowing the
promise of a future. They lived as
sojourners looking for a new home. The
lived by faith.
But today I
am really struck by the verse that poignantly reminds us that they also died by
faith. Did Abraham see the generations
that would number like the stars in the sky?
Did Joseph die knowing his return to the Promised Land? Did Moses die seeing the people in power in
the Promised Land? Did David die seeing
his descendant on the throne eternally?
Of course not. All of those
people died knowing that God would fulfill the promise – even if He didn’t fulfill
it while they were alive. Now that’s
faith!
I also think
there is a great place for identity. Do
we worship God for what He will do for us now?
How many times to we try and bargain with God, promising present
faithfulness for immediate gain? Yet
these people of faith lived a life of present faithfulness in exchange for
future gain. Of course we know that is
the higher choice; but it is often the harder choice. Our identity should be a people who are
content to live in faith now in exchange for a future revelation of God’s
eternal promise.
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