The Heroes of No!
As we read Hebrews 11, we see an amazing chapter about the heroes of Faith. I better like to call them ‘Heroes of No.’ Each person mentioned in that list had said No in one or the other way. Their strong foundation of faith in the LORD made them defend, oppose, and battle against the influences of their surroundings that could even make them prominent figures in that era. A Christian is not one who waits for the world to praise and exalt them to show the world that they are Christian, but a Christian is one who keeps integrity with the sovereign God and waits upon Him for His perfect judgement.
When we analyze the faith heroes, they all received approval from the LORD as they dared to be different in their generation. I have seen many Christians who had compromised the standards of holiness as they moved to a different country and culture and had given this change a pet name- ‘cultural adaptation.’ A Christian’s culture must be kingdom culture and that must not be altered or influenced by the winds of modern culture. The cultural adaptation might bring temporary acceptance and fame, but what will be our eternity?
From Hebrews 11, we can deduct several conclusions regarding saying NO.
- Saying No to the influence of others enables one to bring the excellent sacrifice to the LORD. As the elder brother, Cain must have an influence on Abel. But this influence doesn’t affected him to bring a sacrifice like Cain. Abel came prepared for the sacrifice to the loving God.
- Saying NO to cultural barriers enabled Enoch to walk with God. He pleased God with his personal and routine walk with God.
- Saying NO to the worldliness made Noah take a step of faith to build an ark to escape from the damnation.
- Saying NO to the inheritance of this world made Abraham to wait for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
- Saying NO to being called as son of Pharaoh’s daughter made Moses the leader and redeemer of Israel from the slavery. He esteemed the reproach of Christ as greater riches than the treasures in Egypt.
- Saying NO to the king’s officials and hiding the spies enables Rahab to redeem her and their family’s life from perishing.
- Saying NO to worldly leaders made many martyrs, as they were sure that they are aliens in this world.
The list could go on with many more reasons and the glory of the people who had said NO to the influence of this world. A person who has found contentment in the LORD will never say YES to this world. Moses could have become a pharaoh if he wasn’t content with what he had chosen. But, the peace under the contentment in God is greater than any of the pleasures of this world. Take a moment to analyze, am I content in the LORD?
The key factors that enabled all these heroes to be different in their generation were their faith and love in the LORD. The realization of their higher calling enabled them to understand that this world was not worthy of them. Our spiritual eyes must open to say No to this world and its glamour.
They pleased God with their strong faith and showed us a path to live for eternity. Be content, say No to the world, eternity awaiting!
