Meandering Monday - Longing for a Better Place - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Meandering Monday, where we take a trip back to an earlier post and enjoy it again.

But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God. Hebrews 11:16 NLT

The color of his skin destined him for a life of misery.

Mistrusted, hated, scorned, ribbed. Regardless of where John traveled, the response was the same. Life took a devastating turn when he was falsely accused of kidnapping and killing two young white girls. Instead of suspecting the newly hired white man, the father and his employer immediately accused him.

The local sheriff quickly arrested him and hurried him through a mock trial. Evidence was skimpy, but the verdict had been decided before the trial began: death by electrocution. Yet John was a godly man. Even though he knew he was innocent, he accepted his lot with a pleasant smile.

When the day came for him to walk the “mile” to the electric chair, he went willingly, showing nothing but love and appreciation toward the guards who had no choice but to carry out their duties. John knew his race was against him and that there was no hope, but he could smile. What he longed for—and would soon experience—was a better place.

Chapter 11 is known as “Faith’s Hall of Fame”—and for good reason. The writer catalogs numerous people from the Bible’s pages who willingly endured hardships because they had faith a better place existed. Sickness, doubt, persecution, death, fear, rejection. All faced through the lenses of faith. 

Although we enjoy many things about this present world—technological marvels, family, grandchildren, jobs, material possessions, friends—we still long for a better place. Life’s pleasures are tainted by the destructive forces of sin, which always place a bitter taste in our mouths and dampen our full enjoyment.

John didn’t fear death because he longed for a better place. I try desperately to parrot his faith. I enjoy what God gives me, but I long for the better place God has prepared.

As you await a better day, keep trudging along with a smile on your face as you accomplish what God gives you to do.

Prayer: Father, we praise You for creating an eternal home for Your children. 

Tweetable: Do you have faith there's a better place? 

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