As the author of Hebrews 11 continues to write about the ancient heroes of the faith, he suddenly interrupts himself and pens these words:

“All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 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.
Backstory

As a writer, I enjoy trying to imagine the experience an author was having as they crafted a particular sentence or paragraph. This short but insightful passage creates one of those opportunities.

I can imagine the writer sifting through his memory and pouring over scrolls to recount all of these amazing people of faith. As his research and writing continues, a sudden and intuitive leap of understanding strikes his mind: None of these people of faith received the fulfilment of the promises within their lifetime. They all died waiting.

It is as though this epiphany reveals to him a whole new understanding of what it means to live by faith. In that moment, he breaks his thought-process and interjects this newly discovered truth into the passage—and then he immediately picks up where he left off and continues writing about the people of faith. This is a very special moment, and one we would be wise to not quickly pass by.

They Didn’t Get Their Promise?

It could certainly be argued that some of these people of faith did indeed receive their promise. Noah’s family was saved from the flood. Abraham and Sarah did conceive and give birth to a son. But what is missing is the understanding that there was a far more important promise still being fulfilled. To find that promise, we need to go back to Genesis.
The Promise of Restoration

Genesis chapter two recounts the creation of Adam and Eve and the paradise into which God placed them. Originally created for intimacy with Almighty God and given free access to the Garden of Eden and the Tree of Life, mankind was destined for an innocent, peaceful, purposeful and unending existence.

The fall of Genesis chapter three fundamentally changed the nature of mankind. In one fell (fierce and evil) swoop, Adam and Eve suffered a terrible and fatal fall from their original and holy design. The ground was cursed and Adam would be destined to raise his food in weed-infested fields by the sweat of his brow. Women were placed under subjugation to their husbands and the pains of childbirth were increased. Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden and they would no longer have access to the Tree of Life. Their new condition would be the opposite of the original, marked with guilt, conflict, meaninglessness and death. Most significantly, their intimacy with God was broken.

From that moment forward, we have instinctively known that something primal about our existence on this earth is flawed. Abel knew it. Noah, Abraham and Sarah knew it too. The promise they were looking for involved far more than an acceptable sacrifice or a massive ark or a miraculous son—it was a promise of restoration to their original and holy design.
This World Is Not Our Home

They were looking for a better country, one that matched the holy fingerprints left deep within their being by Almighty God. The fulfillment of earthly promises could never quench the burning thirst they had for full and complete restoration. They were longing for home.

This primal desire becomes the nexus between them and the writer of the Hebrews and us. Even though we stand on this side of the cross and the resurrection, and even though we have access to the peace that comes from forgiveness, reconciliation, and the infilling presence of God’s Holy Spirit, we still exist in a broken-down world and in broken-down bodies. We know instinctively that this world is not our home.

Living By Faith

So we long for our homeland—the place where we know we truly belong. And like the ancient people of faith, we too are waiting for a promise to be fulfilled: the return of Jesus Christ! And unless Jesus returns within our lifetime, we too will die living by faith, having not received that promise. This is why the author of Hebrews is challenging us to live like the ancient heroes of the faith.

People of faith live with a faraway look in their eye—with eternity in view. That faith informs their short time on this planet. They know where they’re going and they die with a peculiar sense of expectation and adventure. It isn’t instant, it’s distant—and so they wait with great anticipation. And while they wait, they love and serve and store up treasures in heaven where their heart is already abiding. For that reason, God is not ashamed to be called their God. This is what it means to live by faith.