Spiritual Heroism is simply authentic faith that endures. You and I can do that. You can choose for your life to be a glorifying story of fellowship with the God Family—one that, in eternity, will be embraced by all who enter the Kingdom. Now, what does it take to possess authentic faith?

Hebrews Chapter 11 is often referred to as THE chapter on the “Heroes of the Faith. It is filled with a quick summaries of famous Old Testament characters who distinguished themselves because of their faith.   You may be familiar with the names Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, and Samuel. Their stories have been the subject of Sunday School lessons and sermons through the years. However, the names many Christians recognize are not the only Spiritual Heroes of this chapter! Biblical teachers often choose to teach about spiritual heroes who did the big or showy stuff. Their adventures sound good, and with a little showmanship the “faith thing” can look very glamorous. These heroes almost seem surreal in the way that they followed the high road, succeeded in battle, did the right thing, and still serve as perfect examples for all of us “regular” people. You and I both know that high profile people have a greater wow factor and attract more attention. It is much easier to sell prosperity and miracles than the daily drudgery most of us face. The reality is that there is a second track to Spiritual Heroism—a more obscure road.

Both roads to becoming a Spiritual Hero are covered in Chapter Eleven of Hebrews. Most today’s aspiring Spiritual Heroes, like you and me, will most likely find their way on the less-glamorous second road. But, before we discuss that, I want to point something out to you. I don’t want you to feel discouraged if you feel God is calling you to the spiritual stardom of the first road. My purpose is to encourage you. You need to know these dramatic success stories because they are true. And, most people like to relate to men like these winners—it’s human nature. That is why so much of the miraculous is included in Scripture. Elohim had to get your attention! Almost everyone is attracted to the extraordinary. However, we all need the reality of the ordinary, too. So, why were so many miraculous, extraordinary adventures used when it may be hard for us regular folk to relate?

Here are some statistics that might help you understand why Scripture was written from such a positive perspective, especially the New Testament gospels. If you were to count the number of verses in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, approximately 72% of these verses describe Christ’s life, providing the general historic information surrounding Him, and telling of His pedigree, miracles, and teachings. Each gospel is focused on exalting Him, and rightly so, from an upbeat perspective. The remaining 28% of the verses present the negative aspects of Christ’s life. Those verses include rebuttal teaching and describe the stress He faced during persecution, His physical suffering and His death on the cross.

Thus, three out of every four verses address the positive aspects of Christ’s ministry. However, there is more to these statistics. If you remove from the calculation those verses used for rebuttal teaching during persecution (since the contrasting rebuttal teaching enhances Christ’s positive teaching), then only about one verse in nine or ten directly involve Christ’s suffering. In those verses, God has used negative input to provide positive teaching. Within the gospels, we get what psychologists say we need to keep a positive attitude- 8 and 15 positive reinforcing statements to erase or balance one negative comment’s impact on an individual’s self-esteem. So, if you read Scripture on a regular basis, you will receive the exact proportion of positive reinforcement necessary to maintain a positive attitude amidst the pressure and stress you must face.  That’s what simply reading can do for you. Tomorrow we will see more.

Love Dad