We Can Only Pass the Test Through Faith - Hebrews 11:39,40

And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

At first glance, this statement appears somewhat problematic. Because it appears to be saying that those of faith, while "obtaining a good report" through their faith, didn't receive the blessings attached to that faith. I submit that this is not the meaning of the scripture, but that they did receive the fullness of the promises proffered to them through their faith but perhaps the fulfillment of certain of the promises were not realized in this life.

Furthermore, let us not assume that because many of the early (and contemporary) saints were persecuted, buffeted and slain, that they did not receive the fulfillment of God's promises to them. Firstly, just because God allowed (as we assume) bad things to happen to them, does not mean that He was not fulfilling His promise. Because this life is both a test and a school, sometimes it is a school of hard knocks. God is more interested in building character and creating saints out of us than in making life easy for us - which would defeat His purposes in many cases. Often it is the very sufferings of the saints that make them into something that God considers valuable.

We must remember that in God's eyes, easy climbs, sunny walks and even survival are not nearly as important as grit, character and salvation. Indeed, the test that God has in store for us will test the very mettle of our souls - because the real promises he has in store require true grit and character to enjoy. So if you are a professor of faith, prepare for adventure and a bumpy ride.

C.S. Lewis provided this analogy:

Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.

G.K. Chesterton provided this insight:

Even when I thought, with most other well-informed, though unscholarly, people, that Buddhism and Christianity were alike, there was one thing about them that always perplexed me; I mean the startling difference in their type of religious art. I do not mean in its technical style of representation, but in the things that it was manifestly meant to represent. No two ideals could be more opposite than a Christian saint in a Gothic cathedral and a Buddhist saint in a Chinese temple. The opposition exists at every point; but perhaps the shortest statement of it is that the Buddhist saint always has his eyes shut, while the Christian saint always has them very wide open. The Buddhist saint has a sleek and harmonious body, but his eyes are heavy and sealed with sleep. The mediaeval saint's body is wasted to its crazy bones...

My good friend Dr. Katanuma provided this insight (paraphrased):

The Buddhist says: I love nobody, and nobody loves me - this sounds terribly peaceful because he doesn't have to care about anyone or anything. But oh, to miss out on the splendidness of love!

In short, God's plan for us is no walk in the park, it is an adventure of the grandest sort. And come what may, we can rest assured that He always fulfills all of His promises, ofttimes through sore trial and suffering but they are always fulfilled in His own due time. If we are mindful, we will still have joy and exquisite satisfaction in this life to see what kind of a person He is making out of us. The truly faithful wait on Him, with a surety that come what may, whether in this life or the next, He will fulfill all of his promises.