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How do you want to be loved? Would you prefer your closest loved ones and friends to love you in an ordinary way? Or would you prefer extraordinary love? Surely, we would like something beyond the humdrum and ordinary in our friendships, relationships, and love. Or would we? Extraordinary love is challenging to give, but it’s also challenging to receive.

In 2 Corinthians 2:4, the Apostle Paul explains the purpose of his prior letter, which was filled with rebuke. He says, “That letter I sent you came out of great distress and anxiety; how many tears I shed as I wrote it! Not because I wanted to cause you pain; rather I wanted you to know the love, the more than ordinary love, that I have for you.”[1] Paul’s love wasn’t content with overlooking sin to maintain peace. He loved enough to rebuke. Do we love so fervently? Do we love one another enough to rebuke and be rebuked? Is our love more than ordinary?

[1] REB

In John 9, Jesus encountered a man who had been blind from birth. The Lord spit on the ground, made a bit of mud, placed the muddy spit on the man’s eyes, and told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam. Why this process? Why the pool of Siloam and not another? We’re not told. But later, when the man recounted the story to his neighbors, he said, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” Jesus’ instructions were probably as baffling to the blind man as they are to us, but he faithfully obeyed Jesus and was greatly blessed!

We would do well to develop a similar attitude. We may not always understand why the Lord commands what He does. But we also don’t have to. Like the blind man, when Jesus says, “Go,” we go! Faithful, trusting obedience is the path to healing and salvation.

Sometimes, it’s nice to have a little time to ourselves. Especially if we have a job that puts us around other people, we may need time now and then to retreat and enjoy some quiet and contemplative solitude. Solitude, however, is something we should seek wisely and purposefully. See, it is possible to seek solitude for the wrong reasons.

Proverbs 18:1 says, “Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.” Sometimes, we need a respite. Sometimes, we might be more introverted than extroverted and thus enjoy solitude. But it is also possible that we desire isolation out of selfishness. Perhaps we don’t want to be accountable; maybe we won’t work to get along with others, or we might not love others as we should. But God created us to live in community—to help and encourage one another. When we neglect community and instead pursue isolation, we may be walking a dangerous path.

Today concludes the fourth week of a series I’ve been working through in Hebrews 11—the great Hall of Fame of Faith. But if you’re like me, you may come to the end of Hebrews 11 and be very impressed yet wonder, “How can I measure up to them?” But you know what? We can—by faith!

Our stories may not be as dramatic nor told for centuries to come, but the whole point the Hebrew writer makes is that all of these great examples are united to us by faith. Listen to the closing verse: “…God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.” What a thought! Because of Jesus, all of God’s faithful people, from the beginning to the end of time, are united as God’s saved children. Our names may not be written in Hebrews 11, but if we live in obedient faith, they can and will be written in the Book of Life.

Yesterday, we considered Hebrews 11:33-34 and the lesson that faith gives God’s people great strength. While those verses highlight the strength faith grants to fight the good fight, verses 35-37 remind us of another form of strength that may be less desired but is just as important: the strength to suffer for the Lord. Those verses read,

“…Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—”

Sometimes, God grants physical deliverance, but sometimes, He does not. Recovery from illness, deliverance from suffering, and escape from persecution are not guaranteed just because we are faithful. You may suffer for your faith—but genuine faith will give you the strength to endure until you taste God’s eternal deliverance.

Hebrews 11 is a much shorter chapter than it could be. The first 31 verses work from Genesis through Joshua in a fairly detailed way. But in verse 32, the author begins summarizing larger swaths of Old Testament history. He gives a brief nod to the judges, kings, and prophets and offers this incredible testimony of their faith: “Who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.” Those are some incredible ideas! The underlying message of all of them is this: faith makes God’s people strong. A life of faith is not always easy. It requires great effort and great courage. But when we are faithful, God grants His people the strength to prevail. If you want real strength, then pursue a life of wholehearted faith.

Hebrews 11 demonstrates the incredible power of faith. Faith is powerful not because of our strength but because it points us to God’s power. God’s power enables amazing things. In fact, by God’s power, faith enables us to conquer the enemy.

Hebrews 11:30 says, “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.” When Israel arrived at Jericho, they had fought a few battles, but it’s hard to imagine this nation being a military powerhouse. Just a few decades earlier, they were all enslaved. How could they possibly overthrow a mighty and fortified city? By faith. The nation obediently heeded God’s instructions, strange as they seemed. And by trusting in God, Israel was victorious against an enemy they should never have been able to defeat.

And so it is with us. We face an enemy far stronger than ourselves. But we don’t have to rely on our power—if we are faithful to God, we can find victory in Christ!