Read: Hebrews 11:1–11

As you read through this list of people who lived by faith, what do you think? Do you feel that they must have been holy people who hardly ever sinned? The Lord did not write this list of people for us to make us feel like we could never have faith like these holy people. Not at all. The people listed here were just as sinful as you and me. The Bible even lists some of their sins.

One of the things the Lord teaches us with this list is what it looks like to live by faith. You can say that you love the Lord, but loving the Lord must also show in your life, in how you live. As you live your life, you must not be focused on the things around you, but you must be focused on serving God and on eternal life with the Lord. We haven’t seen that eternal life yet, but we know God has promised it to us. So, living by faith means believing that we have such a great future with the Lord even though we haven’t seen it.

Look at some of these people and how they lived, serving the Lord even though they hadn’t seen the things that were to come. Noah spent years building the ark in obedience to the Lord even though he couldn’t see the coming flood.

Abram left a great country where he lived well to go to Canaan in obedience to the Lord even though he never saw the land of Canaan belonging to the Israelites. He left his house and family and lived in tents away from his family, in obedience to the Lord.

And so, we must also live by faith. Of course, we need to be busy working in this life, but as we do so we must always think about the Lord and how we can serve him, and we must think about eternal life that he promises us. Always keep your eyes focused on Christ and his love for you.

Reflection with your child:

What can you learn from this list of people who lived by faith?

Source: Sermon by Rev. H. Alkema