Faith Goes In Opposing Directions

Some men were tortured, not accepting release, so that they might gain a better resurrection, and others experienced mockings and scourgings, as well as bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they died by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, destitute, afflicted, and mistreated. The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and on mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.  Hebrews 11:35-38

I would like to invite you to take in this paragraph by a pastor from the 1800’s, G. H. Morrison.  His messages were described as pastoral and devotional.  He reveled in obscure texts.  He wrote his sermons early in the week and set out, the rest of the week, to discover how simply he could present them.  His painstakingly careful, and Spirit led wording, is never more evident than in his treatment of this passage from Hebrews 11.  The back and forth comparisons make me think of the Ecclesiastes scripture about the times: time to build up, time to tear down, etc.

With you, I ask God for the wisdom to discover how faith should be expressed in my life today.

Teach us, Lord.  Amen

Quote: Faith is not just when it brings deliverance to a man, but sometimes, when deliverance is offered, it gives him a fine courage to refuse it. There are seasons when faith shows itself in taking. There are seasons when it is witnessed in refusing. There is a deliverance that faith embraces. There is a deliverance that faith rejects. They were tortured, not accepting deliverance—that was the sign and seal that they were faithful. There are hours when the strongest proof of faith is the swift rejection of the larger room^{.  G.H. Morrison}