Recently I memorized Hebrews chapter 11, the famous Hall of Fame of Faith. During my time memorizing, God began to open my eyes to things I had never noticed before. One of my takeaways was that while we CAN map out the very well traveled road of where our faith in Christ will take us spiritually, we cannot begin to guess where it will take us in this earthly life. Look with me, for example, at the first two men mentioned in the Hall of Faith – Abel and Enoch.

• Two men beloved and pleasing to God.
•  Two men with the same spiritual destination in Heaven.
•  Two men who could not have met more opposing outcomes on earth.

Abel’s Walk of Faith

Abel and his brother Cain are both sons of their physical father Adam. But spiritually one is the son of Satan and the other a son of God. Genesis chapter 4 lays out a sweeping account of Abel’s life, faith, and death. In the space of 8 verses we see the sacrifices of Cain and Abel, the righteousness of Abel, the jealousy of Cain and the spilling of the first righteous man’s blood after Cain is rejected for trying to come to God his own way. (There’s only one way to God, and that is by faith in Jesus Christ, not in ourselves and our works)

Because of his faith, Abel was counted as righteous by God who testified to this when He spoke to Cain. What does Abel receive by faith? All of the promises of God including right standing with Him, eternal life and the heavenly city He has prepared for His children! (See Hebrews 11:13-16)

However in the physical realm, Cain is overcome with the passionate sin of jealousy when he is not accepted by God. Cain destroys him that is accepted – that is, Abel.

So, Abel received spiritual life because of his faith. But because his faith stirred the jealous hatred of his brother Cain, the outcome of his spiritual faith was his physical murder (death).

Enoch’s Walk of Faith

As shocking as Abel’s physical ending was, Enoch’s couldn’t be a more wild contrast. Abel and Enoch have both come to God by faith. Both are called righteous. Both have received spiritual life. But while Abel endured the brutal death of being being murdered by his very own brother because of his right standing with God, Enoch is whisked away to Heaven by the Lord, escaping physical death altogether! The Bible says he “walked with God and he was not, because God took him.” He escapes the coming judgement of the flood, he escapes physical death even though he was a prophet in his time and spoke the truth to a wicked generation (See Jude). Enoch’s life was preserved to the uttermost. Whoa. What a contrast!

Take Heart

When I ask the questions, “What does this say about God’s ways? What does this mean for my life?” Two things come to mind:

Firstly, that our righteousness is not a predictor of how life (or death) will go for us. There is a common teaching that if you are pleasing to the Lord nothing bad will happen to you. Well, tell that to Abel! While the Lord does often give protection and great provision to His people, our physical safety is not guaranteed. In fact, in Matthew 10:28 Jesus says the following,

*28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

The encouragement for me here is this: we’re not living for the physical outcomes, which are temporary, but we are living for the King, Jesus Christ and for eternity, for the kingdom of God that we are a part of by faith.

My second thought is this, that although there’s no security in knowing just how our physical life will play out as we walk by faith, there is great security in knowing our God and His plans for us. Romans 8:28-29 says the following:

*28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;

If God is causing ALL things to work together for good, EVEN the bad things, then that is really comforting news. And not only this but the good that He is bringing about for those who have trusted in Him, is that He is making us more like Jesus, conforming us to the likeness of Christ.

It’s not all about us either. We are to live our lives in a way that shows off the light within us. 1 Peter 2:12 says this:

*Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.

So no matter what’s happening here on this earth or what we’re facing in this life, let’s keep our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. Let’s walk in the Light. Lay up our treasures in heaven, and entrust our future(s) to the One who preserves our souls for life with Him on the other side. Never forget that He is working all things together for our good and for His glory. ❤️

 

 

*New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.