These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

--Parallel verses:
‭‭I Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭10‬-‭13‬
Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things. Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.

We serve an ageless, timeless, and infinite God! Take a minute and let that sink in.

We live on an earth that has an expiration date. We live in houses where the pieces and parts have expiration dates. Our cars, jobs, clothes, and shoes all have expiration dates. Even our bodies have an expiration date. But our God does not have an expiration date. And this is just one aspect of his amazingness. He is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present, and the complete definitions of what love, truth, grace, forgiveness, faithfulness, purity, and peace are.

When I serve him faithfully, but I worry about how things will end up for me, am I not discounting his awesomeness?

What I love about this passage in Hebrews, and the corresponding passage in I Peter, is that they point to something far greater than our lives. They highlight that our faith is connected to the faith of the prophets and judges and leaders in the Old Testament (4,000 years ago), the disciples in New Testament (over 2,000 years ago), leaders in the church since then (the last 2,000 years, and church leaders long into the future. We are connected by our faith in this adventure called “Life with God”.

He takes us to unknown places, requires impossible things, gives us incredible gifts, and achieves through us unimaginable victories, some in our lifetimes and some that span all of time.

So how do we respond to this incredible love that has taken weak and finite humans and made us a part of an ageless, massive show of love and power? We simply respond with all-out devotion and obedience. We love him with all our hearts. We give him our minds to use for his purposes. And we train our attitudes and actions to mirror his ways in life.

This is what it means to have HOPE of the future grace of Jesus Christ when he returns. This hope is not a whimsical fancy or a baseless dream. No, it is rooted and anchored in the God of the universe. Stand with me in this hope, demonstrated by all-out devotion and active obedience to his call. And marvel at his Spirit’s work in our lives each day!

And together, as the bride (or church) of Jesus Christ, we will be perfected and living in perfect love, justice, and unity with our beloved.

Lord, you are INCREDIBLE — all-powerful and personally relatable to me and every human ever in existence or to be born. I can see your hand in the details of my life. Even in these last few days, as I obey you, you reveal your ideas to me that are so wonderful and amazing. Ideas about faith, future, work, and love. Thank you a thousand times over. Life with you is an adventure ride — an incredibly fun rollercoaster with twists and turns — that I never want to get off, because you are holding my hand.