SCRIPTURE: Is. 19-21; Heb. 11
Hebrews 11:39-40 Not one of these people, even though their lives of faith were exemplary, got their hands on what was promised. God had a better plan for us: that their faith and our faith would come together to make one completed whole, their lives of faith not complete apart from ours.
OBSERVATIONS: Although this passage is about faith in God, there is a certain amount of faith that we must have in those who have come before us–or after us, as the case may be.
We are all following in the footsteps of the Master. But we are also stepping where our fathers and mothers were walking in faith. Our footsteps on the journey of discipleship will be the markers for our children, physical and spiritual. Therefore, our actions are deeply impacted by the actions of those who set the course for our congregation decades ago.
More to the point, our actions must not inhibit the generations that are to come.
The best news is that we are not required to know the future nor to fully understand the past. We only have to heed God’s direction and provide faithful responses. If past, present, and future iterations of Trinity were, are, and will be faithful, then the plan will come together, seamless across time.
APPLICATION: I shall not ignore the faithful work of disciples of Trinity’s history. I will be a faithful disciple here and now. I will remember and pray for those disciples who have yet to join the body of Christ that is living at Trinity UMC.
PRAYER: God, I’m not trying to be a time traveller, to major in history, or to be in more than one place at three times. Help me to be mindful that my part is a small part in the greater Kingdom. Help me to see how I fit. And I’ll try to remember that seeing how I fit in is more than enough–I don’t need to know the full plan. Thanks for loving me so well. I’m praying because of your Son, and after His example. Amen.
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