By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.
Hebrews 11:29,30
So much of life is only about us. How will this affect me? What does it mean for me? When the stock market goes up or down, what does that do to our investments? When a storm comes in, how will it change my life?
I remember when the son of one of our very dearest friends got married. It was a joyful time of celebration. We were so thankful to see how God brought these two together. They came from very different backgrounds, but it was clear for all to see that God had a plan for them.
And yet, our friends were only thinking about one thing. After they said “I do,” all they could talk about was grandchildren. They wanted their son and daughter-in-law to quickly get married and produce a grandkid for them. Now. The sooner the better.
Looking at it from my limited keyhole, it seemed that the big thing was how this marriage was going to give them grandbabies to hold. To take care of. To babysit. To spoil.
Faith can be like that too. When we come to God through Jesus, many people only talk about how they were saved. That God personally died for all their sins. That Jesus is their Lord and Savior. Jesus is preparing a place for them and he’s coming back for them. And when they look at all the blessings that God gives, they only look at how they will get them.
Now, all this is true. Yes, Jesus is their personal Lord and Savior. But Jesus created his church[1]. He’s also the head of the church[2]. When it comes to worshiping Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess him as Lord[3].
Did you notice that belonging to Jesus is both an individual and group thing? It’s not one or the other. At the same time, Jesus died for us as an individual and as part of a larger group of people.
I think I was fortunate to have this burned into my memory from the very beginning. Right after I personally received Christ as Lord and Savior, I was introduced to people as a new Christian. They welcomed me as part of the body of Christ and the church. It’s always about both, not either or.
The writer reminds the Hebrews about this important truth as they face persecution. Yes, they individually feel the pain of oppression and intimidation. But they are never alone. God acts on their behalf both as individuals and as his body of believers.
Just look at the faith of these individuals that made up larger groups of people. God opened up the Red Sea for the nation, which was made up of all those individuals. When God ordered the army of Israel to march around the walls of Jericho, it was a whole lot of individuals that went together. And when the walls fell, all those soldiers fought and destroyed the city.
Yes, God loves to raise up leaders. Godly men and women who will be willing to stand in front and speak for him. Do great works of faith for him. To represent God in front of many people, changing the lives of so many.
But the simple truth is that there are a whole lot more followers than leaders. Moses was told by God to raise his staff to split the Red Sea. But there were more than 600,000 Israelites that individually walked on dry ground[4]. There was one Joshuah leading the army of Israel against Jericho, but there were about 40,000 soldiers that marched and took the city.
There’s lots of pressure for people to become leaders for the Lord. Just look and listen to all the sermon series, podcasts, books, and social media posts that are pushing the agenda that you too can be a leader for Jesus.
And while that may be true for some, the fact is that most of us are called to be one of the many. Part of the crowd. Yes, we have an important roll to play, but it’s in cooperation with God’s purpose and within a larger group of people.
The Christian life isn’t called a walk by faith[5] for nothing. No one can walk for us. We have to do it on our own. But we need to walk without bumping into a lot of other people. When our walk is worthy of our individual calling, it’s with humility, gentleness, patience, love and unity[6]. Did you notice that our individual walking worthy is measured by our connection with others? Yes, being a Jesus follower is individually receiving him as Lord and Savior, but it always, always, always changes the way we connect with and serve others. We’re never a lone Christian. We are part of his body[7]. Always live like the fact that faith is both an individual and group thing.
Noodling Questions
Why is it easy to connect receiving Jesus and immediate blessings in this life?
How have we pushed pain and persecution out of our spiritual conversations?
Describe how walking by faith is a walk and not a drive in the car.
[1] Matthew 6:18
[2] Ephesians 5:23
[3] Philippians 2:10,11
[4] Exodus 14:16-22
[5] 2 Corinthians 5:7
[6] Ephesians 4:1-3
[7] 2 Corinthians 12:27
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