September 11, 1998
Dear Friends,
"This is where my grandparents lived," my grandfather said pointing to the newly furrowed acres of land. "My parents lived here," he said, pointing further up the lane. It was the summer I was pregnant with my son . . . Grand daddy and I spent the day, driving around the countryside . . . down this lane . . . and that . . . traveling back through time. We visited the old cemetery . . . He showed me where the schoolhouse once stood . . . the hilltop site of the old church. Silently, we stood there on the hill looking down into a gently sloping valley. In the breeze, I could "hear" the call of the church bell and "see" the people "walking" up the slope as they gathered for church . . . And . . . I felt a strong connection with the past . . . with my ancestors: I knew of their faith, I was taught it. I knew of their strength, I had seen. I knew their God
"Since we have such a huge crowd of men of faith watching us from the grandstands, let us strip off anything that slows us down or hold us back . . . and let us run with patience the particular race that God has set before us."
(Hebrews 12:1 Living New Testament)
Hebrews 11:1 reads: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (KJV)." Between this verse (Hebrews 11:1) and the other (Hebrews 12:1) stands a veritable roll call of faith. Beginning with the faith of Abel, and Enoch and Abraham and his wife, Sara, and ending with the faith of unnamed soldiers of the cross, these verses offer testimony - of the faithful - to the faithfulness of God. These souls are "the great cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1 KJV)" that trusted in the Lord and found Him to be faithful and true. These are the "huge crowd of men of faith" to whom the writer of Hebrews refers . . . by whom the writer gives encouragement
Looking back on that day, standing on that hill with my grandfather, I see my "cloud of witnesses." Grandfather and his father before him, were preachers . . . his sons - my uncles - were preachers . . . my brother and I - preachers . . . my grandmother, a preacher. A legacy . . . a personal testimony . . . a praise to His Name.
In the Master’s Love,
The Preacher,
Rev. BWilliamsWaters