December 13 - Hall of Faith

 Read today’s texts first: Hebrews 9-11

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

The heroes of our faith family are gathered in the
stands of eternity cheering all of us on. 

My cousin and namesake, the other Robert Buzza, has always served the Buzza family by documenting our family lineage. It’s fascinating to see the consistency of the Buzza heritage, with lumber and Christianity emerging as recurring themes. My Dad owned several lumber companies and was a key elder in my home church. He came by those values quite naturally, going back several hundred years. In 1596, John Boussow (later changed to Buzza), our earliest recorded ancestor and well respected timber dealer, donated the pews for his home church in Cornwall, England.

But even more fascinating than my natural family is the spiritual lineage all believers enjoy. I love travelling across North America visiting churches (I’ve done so for many years, leading college tours from 1987-2013). Wherever I find fellow Christians, anywhere around the world, I feel immediately at home. The ties to our spiritual family are profound in this world, but they will become even stronger as we transition into eternity.

That’s why I love this particular passage in Hebrews. It takes us back to the beginning of our faith family and I always get misty-eyed when I read about my famous ancestors. Some were renowned leaders who achieved phenomenal success (11:4-34). But in the middle of verse 35 things change - the names become inconsequential and their lives seem to end in defeat. My voice always catches as I read how they were tortured, scourged, stoned, imprisoned, and sawn in half. But then my spirit lifts when I read the parenthetical thought in verse 38: men and women of whom the world was not worthy. Yes! That’s my faith family!

And then we read how these incredible heroes of the faith are gathered in the stands of eternity cheering all of us on, to help us finish our journeys strong and unencumbered by sin (12:1). “Lord, as I consider the remaining years I have left on this planet, may I not grow weary or faint-hearted, as I run with endurance the race that is set before us, always looking to You, the founding father and finisher of our faith” (12:2,3).