Going Deeper from the week of December 18 from Hebrews 11

Is all faith "blind" by definition? The author of Hebrews defines "faith" as "being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see". Hope is a longing for what is yet to come. It is not here yet, so the longing could be said to be "blind". And the certainty is of things not seen; not seeing is also "blind". Right? Although it is true that all faith is "blind" not all faith is the same. Faith in God through Christ is not like having "blind" faith that you will win the lottery. Faith in God through Christ is rooted in conviction based on God's personal track record of faithfulness. This is what we see in the rest of the chapter. The people (Abraham, Moses, etc.) place their faith in God and have good reasons to hope because God has shown Himself faithful. Now as we come to God today we look back on all He has done over the years and we realize that He is faithful. God does what He says He will do. So we place faith in Him, but not really "blind" faith since our faith is based upon God's habit of keeping His word. This is what the author means in chapter 12: "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our FAITH, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Jesus believed God, so much that He was willing to "endure" the cross realizing that it would be only temporary; confident that God would seat Him at His right hand when the penalty had been paid in full. So our faith is not "blind". It is based on God's habit of continually doing what He says He will do. This then enables us to trust Him - "to be sure (or more accurately assured) of what we hope for". We long for Jesus to return as judge to make all things new, and because of God's good record of doing what He says we are assured that Jesus will come soon. Amen, come quickly Lord Jesus!