Dynamics of Heroic Faith

It has been the classic for decades: the hero is the regular guy next door who hears the call of destiny, step out into harm's way and by courage, strength or skill overcomes the challenge. The details may differ from story to story, but the storyline is roughly the same, whether it's the Homeric epics of the Greeks and Romans, the Arthurian legends of the Europeans, the bravado of the ancient African warrior or the superhero antics of Batman, Spiderman and Superman.

But that storyline is also true of the great sagas of the Bible. Hebrews Chapter 11 is the Bible's "Who's Who of Faith" and we speak of its many characters as "heroes of faith." It was not their hyperbolic physiques or superior intelligence that made them heroic, but simply their faith in God. Faith made them "almost as omnipotent as God, by borrowed power of its divinity." It transformed the ordinary into extraordinary.

The writer to the Book of Hebrews thus parades in front of our eyes these men and women and holds their faith up for our study. Despite their character or personality flaws, their faith sparkles and dazzles, challenging our imagination and provoking us to climb higher.