I just read Hebrews 11 in the New Testament for the umpteenth time. It is all about people who live by faith and talks about the radical, committed lives that many of the great biblical heroes lived. The chapter “Who Really Lives That Way?” in Francis Chan’s book Crazy Love reminds me of Hebrews 11.
Hebrews 11:37-38 says, “They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—of whom the world was not worthy…,” speaking of those who live(d) radical lives in God’s honor.
And so here I am in the comfort of Starbucks, drinking a $3 Venti Caffe Americano, wearing a warm wool blazer on a cold, spring day, wondering if I’m trying to be too much like “the world.” Wondering if me and “the world” deserve each other, knowing the destiny of “the world”—and that does not strike me in a positive way.
I want God to look at me and say “The world was not worthy of him,” but I think that will only happen when I stop (really stop) serving myself and start serving God by helping people—especially the spiritually lost and the economically challenged. Ultimately and unfortunately, I don’t know what that should look like but I’m convinced that God will show me (and likely change me).
What do you think?
