<\/p>\n
\u201cNow faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen\u201d (Hebrews 11:1).<\/p>\n
HOW STRONGLY WE REACH FORWARD TO HEAVEN IS DETERMINED BY HOW STRONGLY WE BELIEVE IT WILL ACTUALLY BE TRUE. If we\u2019re not sure whether heaven exists, or if we\u2019re just not concerned about it one way or the other, then we won\u2019t exert ourselves very strongly in the direction of heaven. But if the reality of heaven is a conviction<\/em> with us, we\u2019ll reach forward to it fervently.<\/p>\n These days, many people define faith as \u201cwishful thinking.\u201d In their opinion, religious people only believe in heaven because they want to believe in it. But wanting something to be true makes it neither more nor less likely to be true. The only question worth asking is which side the superior evidence<\/em> is on: the side of belief or the side of disbelief? The weight of the evidence is all that matters.<\/p>\n Our text in Hebrews 11:1 describes faith as \u201cthe substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.\u201d Genuine faith is the assurance of hoped-for things, not merely because one hopes for them but because one sees that they have a solid \u201csubstance,\u201d that is, that they are \u201csubstantiated\u201d in a sound way.<\/p>\n In 2 Corinthians 5:7, Paul says that Christians \u201cwalk by faith, not by sight.\u201d Christians are a trusting<\/em> people. They live their daily lives on the principle of trust, willing, because of solid evidence, to stake everything on the reality of God and salvation and heaven.<\/p>\n I have sometimes heard people speak of belief in heaven as the \u201csafe\u201d course to follow. The argument runs something like this: if heaven turns out to be real, then the believer will have his hope, but if it turns out otherwise, the believer will be in no worse shape than anyone else. But I believe we can do much better than think of heaven as a safe bet. We can weigh the evidence and make our choice in favor of an idea that is so strong in its probability that we can be confident<\/em> of it. For now, heaven (and hell too) may be, as the Hebrew writer says, \u201cnot seen,\u201d but unseen does not mean unreal. The immortality of our souls is a great possibility, to say the least. But faith sees that it is more than a possibility: it is the great reality.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cAs the essence of courage is to stake one\u2019s life on a possibility, so the essence of faith is to believe that the possibility exists\u201d (William Salter).<\/p>\n Gary Henry \u2013 WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com<\/p>\n