December 20
Hebrews 11:1-12:29
Over ten years ago, our nation went through a fierce battle on healthcare, eventually passing the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare. One of the most frequent statements then was that we as a nation pay twice as much as other nations, yet have among the worst results. This statement stood, was echoed and people place their faith behind it. When those statements were made the World health Organization ranked us below nations like Greece and Morocco. In fact, in the 2010 rankings we were ranked 37, just behind Costa Rica. As illogical as this seemed, everyone continued to quote this. If this is the case, why do dignitaries from these seemingly "better nations" travel far distances in order to receive their healthcare in our nation. The problem is when we don't see what is behind the ranking. If the system artificially tilts numbers in a certain way, then we are actually comparing apples and oranges, rather than apples and apples. The WHO ranking system uses four main criteria: Overall level of health (i.e. life expectancy), Distribution of health across the population, distribution of financing across the nation, and responsiveness. When it comes to responsiveness, or how quick one can access care our nation always fares well. But the middle two: distribution of care and distribution of financing favors a socialized, government, single payer system. Therefore, since we still have a largely private system, we will artificially appear bad. When it comes to life expectancy, multiple factors outside of healthcare such as motor vehicle accidents, suicide rates and drug related deaths alter these numbers, which we fair poorly, but are not directly the results of a healthcare system. The same erroneous rankings also exist for topics such as infant mortality, etc. Different nations use different criteria, ours using the most all-inclusive definition of life, therefore appearing the worst. The point is that the healthcare debate was completely driven by inaccurate and misleading numbers. Many claim a lack of faith in God because they feel they can't feel Him and touch Him, preferring to believe in "reality". But the reality is that much of what we place our faith in, here on earth is deceptive.
Hebrews 11, or the Hall of Faith, begins with a definition in 11:1, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." We get a view of what it means to lack faith in 11:6, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." We have become so familiar with many of the stories surrounding these great men of faith that it is easy to miss what great faith they possessed. Consider Noah in Hebrews 11:7, who built an ark for over one hundred years in the middle of dry land, continually preaching without a single convert. Consider Abraham in 11:8-19, who left his family, wealth and every comfort he had to go on an unknown, dangerous journey to a land which was not specifically shown to him and a promise of an heir which would not come to fruition for another 25 years. Consider Moses in 11:23-29, who gave up a royal lifestyle in order to go on a very long desert journey reaching the doorstep of the Promised Land and never entering before his death. We then go to the large group of unnamed individuals in 11:35-40 who were tortured, scourged, imprisoned, slain, etc for their faith as recorded in 11:39-40, "And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us." He continues this in Hebrews 12:1-2 with an encouragement for us who are on our journey of faith, "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
So, what do we place our faith in? Our marriage? But unfortunately too many end in divorce, and even the best of marriages almost always end with one or the other dying. Our children? But as our children grow, they will all move away, some remaining loving, but many wandering and becoming prodigals. Our wealth? Unfortunately, this can never be trusted as many saw during the Great Depression or during the occasional stock market crashes. Many feel the sting of this when they lose their job, etc. Our politicians or political party? Most politicians dishonestly gain power and fatten their own pockets at the expense of their so-called constituents. As I said previously, often those things that we choose to trust on earth are deceptive or fleeting at best. But He who we can not physically see is actually the One who can be trusted and is the One that we should place our faith behind. As said in Hebrews 13:8, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." One of God's characteristics is that He is immutable or unchangeable. He is the logical choice for our faith.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: