Hebrews 11:26

Hebrews 11:26

The Better Country.

I. Look, in the first place, to the state of soul here specified, "They desire." That word denotes an ardent longing for the possession of something which we have not now, but which we may come ultimately to call our own; and when used, as here, to designate the attitude of a believing soul toward heaven, it is to be noted that it is a positive thing. (1) It is not, therefore, to be mistaken for the dislike of the evils of the present life which is frequently mistaken for it. (2) Similarly, we must not suppose that we can use the term to designate that submission to the inevitable which makes a man say that if he must leave the world, though he would greatly prefer to stay in it, he would rather go to heaven than hell. The desire in such a case, very clearly, is to abide in the flesh; and if one has no more powerful attraction to heaven than that it is not hell, he is a long way from being made meet to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light. (3) Even true Christian resignation is not desire. Desire is an attraction to heaven for its own sake; an eager yearning to be with Christ and those who love Him perfectly, and serve Him constantly on high.

II. Note the object towards which this state of heart is directed, "The better land, that is, the heavenly." The evil things of earth shall there be absent, and the things which the Christian most delights in shall be possessed, not only in an infinitely richer measure, but eternally; therefore to those who value this life for Christ's sake, heaven must be, cannot but be, an object of desire.

III. Note the influence of this desire on those who cherish it. "They confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on earth." Now that confession has a threefold influence. (1) It keeps those who make it from regarding the things of this life as supreme. (2) It sustains the Christian under present afflictions. (3) It gives consolation in bereavement and joy in death.

W. M. Taylor, Christian World Pulpit,vol. xvi., p. 113.

References: Hebrews 11:26. Clergyman's Magazine,vol. iii., p. 210; Archbishop Benson, Boy Life,p. 368; G. Matheson, Moments on the Mount,p. 93.