"The world was not worthy of them."

Today's reading, from Hebrews 11-12, includes the faith "Hall of Fame", but the part that caught my attention was this:

They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated -- the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.

Hebrews 11.37-39

The world was not worthy of them. So where am I on this? I can't imagine standing before the Lord at the end of my life and hearing, "The world was not worthy of you."

Man! That's even better than Well done, good and faithful servant, which is pretty darned powerful itself.

What would I be willing to go through for that? What should I be willing to go through for that?

And, as the nagging little voice says, how do I know what's really going to happen? Those (excuse me) butt-heads that flew airplanes into the World Trade Center -- what were they thinking? That the world wasn't worthy of them? Did they think they were going to get a reward for killing thousands of innocent victims in the WTC?

We want to be sure we're following the right Spirit. But we do want to follow him, lest we waste our lives in meaningless pursuits. As John says, let us test the spirits....