In 1998, I was celebrating my first married Valentine’s Day with my wife, Cara. At the time we were living in Germany. One of the perks of living in central Europe was how easy it is to travel and see other countries. Doing a bit of research, I discovered a tour to Paris being offered by a local tour company. I imagined that I was standing with my wife on the Eiffel tower looking over the city of light on Valentine’s Day. A few days later we were sitting on a bus on our way to Paris.
The bus left late one afternoon, and we traveled through the night. While the seats were comfortable, they were not designed for sleep. Besides, we were too excited, so sleep escaped us. Early in the morning we arrived in Paris, and after a meal (as an American, it feels like a lie to say that the little plate of some cheese and rolled up ham counts as a meal) and checking into our hotel, we rejoined the tour group for an opportunity to go to the Louvre Museum.
The tour leader gathered us in front of the museum, handed us our tickets and told us that we had two hours to tour the museum. Cara and I looked at the size of the building and thought, “We can do this.” We raced into the museum. They had helpful pictures with arrows so that you could go see the most famous pieces of art. Together we saw the Mona Lisa, the Thinker, and incredible art by Monet and Rembrandt and others. We raced from one piece of art to another. At one point, we were lost, but we found Egyptian mummies on display.
Looking at my watch after we caught our breath, and suddenly realizing our time was about up, the realization hit that we had only seen about 1/3 of the museum. There was so much more to see, but we did not want to miss the bus. Besides we had just raced through crowds and taken mere moments to appreciate the works of masters for two hours, and we were a bit tired. Did I mention that we still had not slept?
“And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about …” -Hebrews 11:32
Our experience in the Louvre reminds me of the writer of Hebrews in chapter 11; we are led through a showing of the masters of faith. We catch story after story. Name after name. Most of them we are familiar with as their stories are told in the Old Testament. Others not so much. But the author is breathlessly telling us the stories, racing through the museum of faith. Amazing things take place. It is overwhelming for the author. It is overwhelming for us to take it all in. These amazing men were so connected with the God of love and grace that they experienced God in ways that modern men and women of faith only fantasize about. Like us only glimpsing the art of the masters, in Hebrews, we are only seeing a glimpse of these heroes of the faith.
“Who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again.” -Hebrews 12:33-35a
We don’t know the specifics but WOW! If our churches were seeing things like that consistently, they would be full. There would be waiting lines outside trying to get in. Seeing the power of God’s Grace in action would be the most exciting part of our week. If that was happening, football would be moved to a different day of the week because too many people would not be home in time to catch the games. Dining establishments that are typically overflowing in accordance with the local churches end times would have to delay their openings. Great things would be happening in lives as this powerful picture of Grace would draw people from every nation and tribe.
