Faith is the guarantee of the things we hope for, and the certainty of the things that we do not see. It was by their faith that our ancestors won God's approval. By faith Abraham, when called by God to set out for a country that would later be given to him as an inheritance, left without knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as a stranger in the land that had been promised to him, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were beneficiaries of the same promise. Indeed, he looked forward to that city of solid foundation of which God is the architect and builder. By faith Sarah herself received power to become a mother, in spite of her advanced age; since she believed that he who had made the promise would be faithful. Therefore, from one man, a man as good as dead, were born descendants as numerous as the stars of the heavens, as many as the grains of sand on the seashore.
All these persons died in faith. They had not received what was promised, but they had looked ahead and had rejoiced in it from afar, saying that they were foreigners and exiles on earth. Those who speak in this way prove that they are looking for their own country. For if they had longed for the land they had left, it would have been easy for them to return. But they were longing for a better homeland, a supernatural one. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, because he has prepared the city for them. By faith Abraham, when tested by God, went to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. And so he who had received the promise was ready to offer his only son, although God had told him: Through Isaac shall your descendents be named. Abraham reasoned that God had the power even to raise the dead; and so figuratively speaking, he received his son back from death.
No comments:
Post a Comment