Opinion

Location, Location, Location! –Part 1

Friday, January 26, 2018

All over the world, the golden rule of real estate is location, location, location. Property situated in the best areas is most desirable because it has the greatest value and demands the highest prices. Even though residences in other areas may be more beautiful and even have larger yards, they simply can't demand the same high prices as residences situated in better locations.

Pondering this subject, I found my mind going to Hebrews 11:6, which says, "But without faith it is impossible to please him.…" The word "without" comes from the Greek word choris, which means to be outside of something, such as someone who lives outside the perimeters of a city. It is a comparison between being outside or inside something—for example, in the house or out of the house; in the yard or out of the yard; or in the car or out of the car. The word choris depicts someone who is out of, not in, a specific location.

Because this word is used in connection with faith, the writer of Hebrews is letting us know that we can live in faith or out of faith. This means faith must be a real place that has borders, perimeters, and boundaries. Just as you can live in the city or out of the city, you can live in faith or outside of faith. The determining factor is your obedience to the assignment God has given you. God wants you to be located at the address of faith - for this is the location He deems the most valuable and profitable for your life.

Hebrews 11:6 could be accurately rendered: "When you live outside of faith - living beyond its boundaries and perimeters - you make it impossible to please Him.…" To determine if you are in or out of faith, you must ask yourself these questions:

Am I doing what God told me to do?

Am I fulfilling the assignment He gave for my life?

Am I living in obedience to His Word and to the revelation He has given me?

Am I sticking with the plan Jesus asked me to execute?

That place where God called you; that place requiring your obedience, faith, and patience; that place where you are confident God wants you to be working and functioning - that is the address of faith where God wants you to live. As long as you stay "in" that place where God told you to be, you are "in" faith and you therefore please God. But the day you give up and move "out" of that place of faith, you are moving to cheaper territory that God doesn't value as highly - a location where you will experience the hardships and inconveniences of poor choices and defeat, “for without faith it is impossible to please God.”

The entire eleventh chapter of Hebrews is about men and women who lived "in" faith. They each received a word from God for their lives or for their generation. Although it was difficult to do, they held tightly to their divine mandate. As a result, they changed their generations and pleased God. Faith was the location where they lived—and because they stayed in that place where God had called them to be, they brought great pleasure to Him.

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