Run Forward

 DEVOTION

TO HEBREWS

RUN FORWARD

Heb 11:24-28

24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

NIV

There is a major difference between being a child and being grown-up. We are not told much of the childhood of Moses or exactly how long he spent in the household of Pharoah learning many of the skills of the Egyptian culture. We can imagine he learned mathematics, city planning, architecture, military training and strategy, and whatever other advancements of their culture. But, when the time came and he was grown up, knowing from the training he received from his mother during his weaning process, he knew all along he was a Hebrew from the house of Levi, and we know the story of his exposing himself and needing to run for his life. Moses understood the difference between the God Almighty of the Hebrews and all the false gods of the Egyptians and chose to follow after God Almighty. The author of this letter makes the point that Moses regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt. Here is where the rubber hits the road in our lives. We live in a world filled with treasures, and as a baby, even as a baby believer, we might be enticed by all the treasures available to us in this culture we are privileged to live in. We wonder if we make an effort to live with one foot holding on to the treasures while giving one foot in the kingdom of God. Jesus made it very clear that we cannot serve two masters, we cannot serve money and God, and we have to make a choice, as we are told Moses did. Of course, that culture was much different than ours. We need a home, food, clothing, cars, and so much more, all our tools in our workshops and kitchens. We need enough money to pay for all the utilities we need as well as all our entertainment and those necessities of life. However, are we putting too much trust in our ability to make money, looking ahead and storing it up for our future, then putting our trust in Jesus Christ to supply our every need? Of course, that is through seeing that we have enough money to live comfortably in our culture, and as we grow, we are also learning many of the skills we may need to use in the advancement of the kingdom of God. Moses made a choice and left everything behind to become a nomad, for the sake of God Almighty. We too must make a choice to leave everything behind us and strain for what is ahead. Let us not try to live with the world, but live with Jesus, not have the world within us, but have Christ in us. We have to grow up sometime and see the difference, make our choice, and run toward what is ahead.