Week 3 Day 6 Pondering life/lives

The Good Life: A Life of Faith (Hebrews 11:1-40)

As we ponder the lives of biblical characters, let's think about the notion of "students leading students" for Christ. What does it mean to walk our journey together at this time in our lives? At some point, you would probably have been asked if you would like to do Final by Krish Kandiah. Discussing this book is an attempt amongst student to think about how faith interacts within the context of transition between university and working life. What would the life of faith look like today, as a student. Think about the individuals whose good life of faith inspire you to continue to follow God. You might not know them personally but something in their faith journey helps you see God better.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the men of old obtained a good report. By faith we understand that the universe was framed by the word of God, so that things that are seen were not made out of things which are visible. Here's my list:

By faith Adoniram Judson, translated the bible into Burmese and worked amongst the people for many years at much personal suffering and without much visible fruit.

By faith Susan Boyle, stepped out of her comfort zone to sing in a competition. She remains committed to developing the voice God has given her. She has been called a modern-day Cinderella because of how much her life has been transformed.

By faith Corrie ten Boom, forgave a cruel prison guard with a handshake. She continues to inspire people to trust God through cruel and difficult circumstances.

By faith Chris Grantham, tries to live out his faith in every area of his life including as a dad to Mark.

By faith Merrilyn Withers, shares her life with God in real heart-felt stories.

By faith Tan Lai Yong, left his home and cared for the villages in rural Yunnan as a doctor.

These all died in faith not having received the promises, but having seen them from afar were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Those who say such things declare plainly that they are looking for a homeland. And certainly, if they had been thinking of the country out of which they came, they might have had the opportunity to return. But they desired a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

These all have obtained a good report through faith, but they did not receive the promise. For God provided something better for us, so that with us they would be made perfect.

Some questions to reflect on afterwards (meta-narrative):
*What criteria (apart from their faith) did you use to pick the people on the list?
*Did you have difficulty thinking of people you could list? (too many or too few)
*Would you have less difficulty if you could just pick people you admire for other reasons than faith eg talent or success?
* Post your list online. Comment on other people's list. Often others pick out common threads we may miss ourselves.

Often the people we pick reflect the generation and culture we come from. The people you pick would probably have resonance with other students in far reaching ways more than you imagine. Working out a list like this maybe time consuming but well worth the effort for clarity of thought and vision.