Michele experienced a mixture of emotions as her father neared the end of his life. She grieved when he said, “Honey, I won’t be here to walk you down the aisle.” But she assured him of her love, clinging to the hope she found in Hebrews 11 as she said, “You’re heading for a better country, a country in heaven.” Michele believed that her dad, when he died, would be with God forever. She reflected, “Heaven will be that good!”

The letter to the Hebrews was aimed at Jewish believers in Jesus experiencing persecution by state and religious opponents. Although it was written before the destruction of the temple in ad 70, the fall of Jerusalem to the Romans may have occurred soon after. In this climate of fear, the author urged the believers to hold firm to their faith as he highlighted a great “cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1). Each “did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance” (11:13). They lived by faith, “longing for a better country—a heavenly one,” and God was pleased to be called their God, and “prepared a city for them” (v. 16).

Although Michele ached with sadness when her father died, she embraced the promises of her heavenly Father. We too can welcome these same promises “from a distance” (v. 13), trusting in God.