Tommy Mann

  The author of Hebrews might have made a mistake. In chapter 11 we read this praise of Sarah: “By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.”   By faith? Since when was Sarah a hero of the faith? Her very name in this great faith chapter is surprising enough, but to credit her miraculous delivery of Isaac to her faith seems downright wrong. Don’t you remember when Sarah laughed at God?    Genesis 18:10-12 records the event. “The LORD said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?”    In the next verses the Lord asked Sarah why she laughed, and she denied laughing, but ...

An old Chinese proverb tells of a mother who was distraught over the loss of her child. She was overcome with sorrow, and feeling that she would never be able to get on with her life, finally decided to visit a local philosopher. The aged gentleman told the grieving mother that he could bring her son back from the dead if she would just bring him some mustard seeds. But there was a catch. The seeds had to come from a household where no one had ever experienced suffering. The desperate woman went from house to house, investigating every family in the village. What she discovered was that sorrow is common to every person.  That proverb contains a great truth on the reality of suffering. It is an unfortunate part of life. But I like that the philosopher chose, of all things, to request mustard seeds because that is what Jesus used to teach on faith. He said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and i...