And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise. Hebrews 11:39
As the school year begins to draw to a close, the children are less and less interested in their lessons, and more and more interested in the swimming pool and their bicycles. Teachers abandon their attempts to get their students to do much in the way of homework. And yet, the closer to the end of the school year they get, the more interested the children become in the final assessments that will outline their progress since September. Those children all want to have a good report. They want the assurance of passing into the next grade, the praise of their teachers for work well done, and the smiles of pleasure on the faces of their parents when they read the report cards. There is a day coming when you and I as Christians will be given a report, and, like the school children, we want a good report.
Our text speaks of Old Testament saints who received a good report. We respect and admire the faith that enabled them to obtain the passing grade. But not everybody mentioned in the Old Testament received a good report, just as not all school children receive a good report, and just as not all Christians will receive a good report. What makes the difference? And what difference does it make?
Our text identifies the key ingredient for a good report: faith. We have the examples of the people named and referred to in Hebrews. And we have the examples of great men and women of faith, people like George Mueller and his orphanages, of Hudson Taylor and his mission to China, of dozens of other saints who have launched forth in total dependence on God and in total confidence in His guidance in what they were doing. And by faith, hundreds of thousands of Christians today in communist and Muslim lands place their lives on the line because of their faith. In a lesser way, many Christians who live in lands of freedom carry on a good testimony for their Lord, displaying a likeness to Christ in their devotion and service to Him. All of this is possible only by faith. And just like the Old Testament saints, there is a promise that is before us, a promise of a better land and an eternal reward.
Someday, when they receive the promise, those Old Testament saints will confess with delight that the price they paid was worth it all. If it is worthwhile for them, it will be for us, too. – Jim MacIntosh