Memoirs of the Chute Family

Why do we think that life is something that fits into a box and everyone should live just as everyone else does? Why is it so easy to judge people when they are not fitting into what you in your mind thinks they should be doing? Why do we think that life has to just be "normal"? So When I ask these question I think the big question is what is being normal and who is it that God really wants us to be?
This question came to my mind when I was reading in my quiet time today in Hebrews 11. This as many people know it as the faith Chapter. It is where some amazing people are listed because of their incredible faith. There were two that really got my attention today.
The first is Noah. Starting in verse 7,"By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith."(Hebrews 11:7 ESV) The part that got me was the phrase that said that he warned his family of the things that never happened before. Noah was not normal to people. Rain never happened before. People were looking at him like he was a crazy fool I am sure. Why would Noah do such a thing?
The second person that got my attention today was Abraham. Verses 8-10 "By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God." (Hebrews 11:8-10 ESV) think about what Abraham did. It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith, he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God. He packed his family up and left to an unknown land. He did not know where He was going to go. He went only on Gods promises that were given to him and obeyed. HE WAS NOT NORMAL.
I have read these stories for years. I know them inside and out but this time reading them they just made me think. My faith has been tested more this year than ever before. It has not just been one area of life but many and some people would look at our life and say that is not normal but the question is what is normal? Was Noah or Abraham normal or even anyone else listed in the chapter. Maybe normal is just doing what God has commanded and being faithful to Him even though it is not not "normal looking to us."