Bible Reading Blog
“God is Not Ashamed”
Categories: Congregational Bible ReadingBIBLE READING: Hebrews 11.16
“…as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God for he has prepared for them a city.”
This verse comes at the end of a list of people who are held up as heroes of faith. And yet if you examine their lives, you quickly find that they did some regrettable, even shameful things! And yet God is not ashamed to be called their God. Why? Simply put, their desire was for Him. They were moved by faith to obedience even when it didn’t make sense (Hebrews 11.8). In their weakness, they considered God faithful (Hebrews 11.11). Even without receiving the promises, the believed that God exists and would reward them (Hebrews 11.6).
This simple yet profound belief manifested in seemingly absurd choices: to leave comfort for something unknown; to defy powerful rulers; to accept torture and death. We must observe that what the world sees as strange, God looks at with favor. Not because these actions were inherently noble but because they were performed in hopes of what God had promised. These men and women gave up everything in pursuit of something better. They left family, comfort and familiarity to chase after of the promise God. They looked forward in faith, not looking back, to give themselves the opportunity to return to what they left.
People of faith must not be near-sighted but focused on what is to come. Indulgence and apathy only callous the need we have and the desire we feel for a perfected state. People of faith do not idle in comfort but press forward in hope that beyond death is eternal life in the presence of God. The admonition to set our minds on things above (Colossians 3.2) is a call to strengthen our faith by consolidating our heart’s desires. We are not of this world and must not become placated by what it offers.
Admitting they were strangers on earth freed these people to pursue God by faith. Because of this God was not ashamed to be called their God. In fact, God took their name as part of his communicated identity to all future generations (The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – Exodus 3.6, 15, 4:5). And true to His word, God has prepared a city for them.
How would God regard you and your faith? Would he say, “have you considered my servant _______________?” or would he be ashamed your lack of faith? Could it be said that God is not ashamed to be called your God? My friends, by faith we must look forward to all that God has planned for us. We must disregard the pleasures of this world that we are leaving behind, trusting that better things are ahead because God has promised.
“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way…” (Philippians 3.13-15)
