Have you been to the Hall of Fame? Which one? Were it not for Baseball would we know the city of Cooperstown? My one and a half years of tee-ball do not qualify me! Were it not for Football, would we know Akron? No offense to natives of Cooperstown and Akron, but the Halls of Fame have put the cities on the map for many sports fans in our country. Do you know anybody who is in the Hall of Fame? At a recent wedding rehearsal for good friends of our family, we spent some time in the Hall of Fame for the Southwest Conference. I texted one of our members, Carroll Dawson, to let him know I saw the exhibit which told his story. Pretty fun!
Who is in the Hall of Fame of faith? In Hebrews 11, the writer defines faith as the substance of things hoped for and the assurance of things not seen. Then, again and again, he writes, “By faith . . .” and tells the stories of the faithful men and women of the Old Testament. As Paul told the Romans, “By grace you have been saved through faith . . .” Faith is quintessential to right relationship with God. We are not saved by deeds we have done but by God’s rich mercy.
Moses especially exemplifies Hall of Fame faith. He chose to be mistreated with God’s people over the treasures of Egypt. He traded a potential pyramid as a member of Pharaoh’s family to wander in the wilderness and lead the Israelites home to the promised land. I look around our church on Sundays and I see Hall of Famers all around me. We are inspired by the faith and faithfulness of the great people of God with whom we serve. All of us are in the same arena. Surrounding us in heaven are a great cloud of faithful witnesses. If we look around us we might see them today. We may never make it to Cooperstown or to Akron, but we want to be there when the roll is called up yonder. Will you be there? If you are, it will be by faith alone!
