By Rev. Charles Nsengiyumva, pastor at the First Church of God of Rwanda

In the early church, the relationship of Christianity to Judaism was a critical issue due to hard times that Christian believers were undergoing. Many followers of Christ were backsliding, and that situation pushed the author of Hebrews to address his fellow brothers and sisters, telling them that Jesus Christ is more superior than angels, Moses, and high priests and that they should persevere in the way that their ancestors did if they wanted to inherit God’s promises.

In chapter 11, we find powerful examples of faith that the writer urges them to imitate. Let us focus on Hebrews 11:32-40, which will be divided in three sections: Hebrews 11:32-35a, Hebrews 11:35b-38, and Hebrews 11:39-40.

1. Hebrews 11:32-35a

Shortly before verse 32, the author mentions the prostitute Rahab, who believed and gave a friendly welcome to spies from Joshua. The writer continues with other examples from the Old Testament book of Judges, reminding readers about faithful people, including Gideon, Barack, Samson, Jephtah, David, Samuel. and prophets, all in order to urge them to follow in their footsteps in terms of endurance.

The author then talks about Daniel, who persevered because he had powerful faith that God’s hand was upon him (11:33, 34). In reality, the experience of these heroes of faith in this passage, Hebrews 11:32-35a, was not the result of human strength or wisdom but of faith-fueled power at work. The writer wants his readers to be marked by such a faith in order to defeat the opposition.

2. Hebrews 11:35b-38

In this section, the writer shows the readers how this world is filled with suffering and that in suffering, Christian believers are not left behind.

Suffering does not mean that God deserted us; he is still in control of everything. Sometimes when we are facing problems, we may ask ourselves, “Why us?” Such questions are a sign that we have forgotten that our faith and values collide with those of this world. The results of that collision affect us in one way or the other, but most of us choose not to leave our comfort zone. This is why, oftentimes, it is hard to ask ourselves questions like “Why not us?” when faced with these worldly trials. We know this world is not our home, so we should expect pain, and by expecting it, we are not shocked when it hits. We are urged to have power to persevere, power to not give up, a faith-fueled endurance, as the writer tells us in Hebrews.

3. Hebrews 11:39-40

In these verses, the author concludes the chapter by telling the readers that although these Jewish heroes were marked by powerful faith, they died before seeing the Messiah. Christian believers also live by faith and endure much testing, and so, according to the author, God has planned a reward for all, Jewish heroes and Christians together. Christ offers a better way than Moses and the patriarchs. We Christian believers are to continue having enough faith for the second coming of Jesus Christ, for we have even more reason to hold on to faith than the Old Testament heroes did.

In short, the Global Strategy theme “Give for Good” aligns with Hebrews 11 because it demonstrates many powerful examples of faith.