Faith
Now faith is the assurance[a] of things hoped for, the conviction[b] of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.
Hebrews 11:1-3 (NRSV)
STORY
The idea for the Christian flag emerged on Sunday, September 26, 1897, when a speaker failed to show up for a rally at Brighton Chapel on Coney Island, the recreational area for New York City. Sunday school superintendent Charles Overton thought quickly on how to fill the void. He decided to turn the American flag into an object lesson. Using the colors of the American flag, Overton said the Christian flag should have white for purity, innocence, and peace. The flag’s blue panel should symbolize faith, trust, and sincerity. The flag would have a red cross to remind us of our Savior’s sacrifice.
DEVOTION
Whenever we look to the Christian flag in our sanctuary, we should see an emblem of faith. Whenever we look to the characters in the Bible, we should see testimonials to faith. Whenever we see others seated in the sanctuary among us, we should see living examples of faith. This becomes our inspiration to have faith, to believe, to trust, to be secure when confronted daily be our insecurities.
As it is written in Hebrews, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” We are not talking about the invisible Microsoft cloud, but a cloud that we can embrace. It is the cloud of witnesses that through the centuries, through millenniums to be exact, that have followed Abraham across the Euphrates River into the Promised Land. These individuals have supported us and strengthened our faith. You and I can only pray that we can be a part of that same cloud of witnesses for others.
Rowland Hill was a pastor in the Church of England in the early1800s. Hill was known to take purposely offend people in his preaching. It is reported that he was once preaching to a group of farmers and compared them to their pigs. He preached as a pig never looks up at the oak tree from which the acorn is dropped that feeds them, so the farmers never looked up to God who provides their blessings. Though Hill was educated at some of the best schools in England, because he was so outspoken churches would not let him use their pulpits, so he began to preach outdoors in the fields. Hill’s outspoken style made him a successful evangelist. Rowland Hill’s last words before his death on Thursday, April 11, 1833, were these, “I have no rapturous joys, but peace – good hope, through grace, all through grace.”
Grace, hope, security, they are the hallmarks of a life lived in faith.