They were too good for this world… (Hebrews 11: 38 NLT)

On the Marine Corp Memorial, just outside of Washington DC, the inscription reads, “Uncommon Valor Was a Common Virtue.”  We, as believers in Christ, own a sincere gratitude to those who have gone before us in the Christian faith.  From the twelve Apostles to modern day keepers of the faith, they have exhibited uncommon valor by making virtue a common trait.

Hebrews 11: 35-37 NLT tells us about the courage of those believers who have preceded us.  Tortured and yet they refused to turn from God to gain their freedom.   Mocked, and their backs bloodied with whips.   Stoned to death, others sawed in two.  Still, others were run through by the sword.  They went about in fool’s clothing, penniless and oppressed and ill-treated.  They kept the faith, and not only kept it, but they gave it away.

We should also be grateful for all the modern-day Saints.  Those who helped bring us to Christ and encouraged us in our walk of faith.  We should honor those pastors, Christian leaders, Bible teachers, or just friends who modeled what it looks like to walk along that Gospel road.  

There is something we often miss in this chapter. Verse 40 instructs us that those who have gone before us cannot receive their full inheritance until we finish the race. It is all one cosmic struggle.  We pass the baton to each ensuing generation of believers until the task is complete and Christ returns. We must continue this battle that others have started, even as persecution looms closer to the western world.  After we have gone to our eternal reward, will they say of us, they were people of uncommon valor, and they were “too good for this world”?

I worked for seventeen years as a missionary with Youth With A Mission.  My missionary work has taken me to Mexico, Canada, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Spain, and Ukraine.  I hold a Masters of Education in curriculum and instruction from Virginia Commonwealth University.  [email protected]