Daily Thoughts from Hebrews: Crazy Faith (11:29-31)

By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. (Hebrews 11:29-31, ESV)

Can you picture how crazy faith sometimes seems?  Why would you expect to see a path through the sea open in front of you and trust it would stay that way as you make a long trek through?  How in the world could marching around a seemingly impregnable city wall accomplish its downfall?  And why on earth would you trust the spies of an invading army rather than those impregnable walls?

But that is what faith looks like sometimes.  Because God is the author of the promises and has a way of doing things that we are certainly not used to, ways that are designed, of course, to demonstrate that it is His power at work and not ours, faith sometimes takes “crazy” routes.

Does it not seem crazy in a way that we are trusting in the benefits of a man’s death at the hands of the Romans, whom his friends say was raised from the dead, and whom we are now expecting to return, though it has been nearly 2000 years since that promise was made?

The Hebrews to which our author was writing were being asked, implored rather, to follow the crazy faith of their ancestors.  It had certainly proven to be the most sane thing they could have done.  We are being asked to do the same thing.  And we have had plenty of our ancestors before us who could testify that it was the sanest thing they ever did.  Be smart and get crazy!

Insanity – a perfectly rational adjustment to an insane world. [R. D. Laing]