The first stanza of Nigeria’s National Anthem used the labour of her past heroes to motivate the present generation to duty. As there are past heroes in politics and nation-building, so do we have in the gospel. I was stirred recently to consider the labour of past heroes within the gospel sphere. What inspired that was our arrival at Julius Nyerere International Airport, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. About 4 men were on hand to receive us and took us to the beachfront hotel where we had our reservations. They made everything so easy. Just then, I began to imagine what life would have been for early missionaries who arrived on the shores of Africa. They must have been besieged by innumerable problems. They moved from temperate regions to tropical regions. All modern amenities that they were used to were not available. Many faced health hazards and eventually died. Without these men and women, the present spread of Christianity would have been impossible.
The writer of the Book of Hebrews complimented many heroes of faith. He listed them and their various faith achievements. In our text, he gave a summary of the exploits of some of them. Whether they are faith heroes of the Bible or contemporary history, we owe them our respect. Without them, we won’t be where we are. Their lives should also inspire us, making our present work the foundation for future generations.
May we be empowered to be valiant for the gospel so that future generations can look back to our time and enlist us among past heroes.
