Snipe Hunt Anyone?

Today we climb! Well, actually, we will hike uphill.  Nevertheless, as part of a group from our church consisting of teenagers and chaperones, I will make my way upward toward Lost Lake. 

The body of water earns its moniker. 

A number of years ago my wife (whom I regularly thank for her willingness to seek adventure) and I stood atop the highest point along Lost Lake Trail and took in the panoramic view . . . of fog.  If I doubted the trustworthiness of maps and the truthfulness of my friends who tell me of a lake not lost, I would wonder if the suggested hike to find the lake was akin to the invitations we received as Boy Scouts years ago to journey into the woods in search of snipes.

The scribe of the New Testament letter to the Hebrews opened his best known section of text with words addressing an action for which "the ancients were commended." 

Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Faith.  For their action of faith, the ancients (the women and men of Old Testament and New Testament fame) received commendation.  Faith, according to the true and trustworthy teaching of Hebrews, is confidence and assurance - confidence in hope and assurance in things unseen.

Hope
The lyrics of a modern song of praise declare a "thank you" of sorts to God - "but You have never failed me yet."  All is well lyrically (and theologically) for six words.  The seventh misses the mark.  Biblical hope removes the "yet."  Faith recognizes that the unfailing God never fails and, therefore, never will fail. 

Joshua 21:45 (NIV)
Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.

God is love and love never fails.

Things Unseen
Hebrews 11:39 is perhaps the most honest (brutally, perhaps) verse in the Bible.

Hebrews 11:39 (NIV)
These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised,

Those words speak directly to us as we consider our expectations. 

• Yes, Noah completed the ark;
       yet the world drifted again into sin.
• Yes, Abraham experienced a miracle as Sarah gave birth;
       yet the family feuds were aplenty.
• Yes, Moses crossed the sea;
       yet his feet never landed in the Promise Land. 
• Yes, Rahab was spared;
       yet her whole city (her hometown) fell.
• Yes, you experience the grace of God;
       yet you still have cancer.
• Yes, you know that God will come through;
       yet you wonder when.

Our expectations should be based on things unseen rather than seen.

Hebrews 11:16 (NIV)
Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

Years (many of them) after my final unsuccessful snipe hunt, I discovered that snipe actually exist.  Not the ones of folklore, but rather of ponds and swamp lands.  I guess the joke is on those who invited me and my fellow pillowcase-toting searchers on the hunt - a hunt that was based in fiction; yet while still elusive, pointed to the real thing.

Leave the pillowcase-hunting quests behind.  Join the real adventure of Faith.

#ordinarylives