Unique Identities

We reason that if everyone becomes Christ-like, everyone would become the same. But the God who created a physical world with seemingly infinite variety expresses Himself through variety in all of creation—including people.

Three beings in the form of men appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre. . . . (Gen 18:1b NIV) One was the Lord; the others were angels. Each was a separate manifestation of God’s nature.

This is also true of Biblical heroes. As they followed God—allowed Him to form them in His image—they did not become clones of one another. Each stands out as an individual because God ignited their unique abilities.

We might be searching for an identity—be struggling to develop. When we strive on our own to be unique, we almost always end up conforming to the latest trends. But if we follow Christ, we becomes expressions of His nature—with His infinite capacity for variety. The more we yield to Him, the more He reveals our unique identity—the unique creation He had in mind when He fashioned us.

Originally published September 7, 1984.

Discover God Is Real

Abraham had a trusted servant. We aren’t told much about him, but when Abraham sent him on the important mission of securing a wife for Isaac, the man did not pray to God because he had relationship with God himself. Instead, he prayed, O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success. . . . (Gen. 24:12 NKJV)

There are people today who have prayed and received answers from God—but who do not claim to know God personally. Usually they know God answers prayer because someone else received an answer or answers. But they are not in the habit of praying themselves. Perhaps they think they are not good enough to pray. Perhaps they do not want to submit to God—they might even think prayer is an attempt to escape responsibility.

Yet, in a time of crisis or need, they prayed. And just as God answered Abraham's servant by providing Rebecca to be Isaac's wife, God answers prayer today. It seems God delights in meeting people when they pray. Sometimes He uses that prayer as a catalyst to bring a person to Himself. Whatever the circumstance, people discover God is real when they pray.

God answered Abraham’s servant. When He did, the man bowed down his head and worshipped the Lord. (v. 27)

Originally published January 10, 1992.

Faith Made Complete

The Bible tells us God tested Abraham by telling him, Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering. (Gen. 22:1-3 NIV)

Many years earlier Abraham had met and responded to this God who was different than the pagan gods. Pagan gods demanded human sacrifice, but the God Abraham knew and loved did not. Now Abraham’s God seemed to require the very thing He had abhorred. How could Abraham understand that it was God speaking?

We cannot fathom such an event. Difficult as it must have been, Abraham obeyed. Early the next morning he and Isaac set off on a three-day journey with two servants and a donkey to carry supplies.

Centuries later James used this story to illustrate the relationship between faith and deeds when he says, You see that his [Abraham’s] faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. . . . (Jas. 2:22)

Sometimes God comes to us and seems to ask the impossible. Will we obey?

When the voice of God told Abraham that he should not offer his son but rather a ram caught in a thicket, he obeyed again. In his obedience, he learned once again that he could trust his Friend.

But Abraham did not know God's plan when he began his journey. His part was trusting his friend. He had to walk by faith.

Originally published November 9, 1984.

Picture: From Patty's garden, 2008. Photo by Solveig.

Abraham's Children

[I]t is not the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children of promise. . . . (Rom. 9:8 NIV)

Scripture tells us Abraham had children. Not one child, but children. Isaac was born as a result of Abraham's faith and obedience, but there was also Ishmael, son of Abraham and Hagar. (Gen. 16) And after Sarah died, Abraham married Keturah who gave birth to six children. (Gen. 25) But only Isaac, son of Abraham and Sarah, was a child of promise. The other children were loved and they received gifts, but did not receive an inheritance.

This seems tragic when we focus on Ishmael and on the children of Keturah—until we remember no one receives the blessing of Abraham according to natural heritage. A spiritual heritage comes through faith. Even for those descended from Isaac.

Paul wrote, Consider Abraham: He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. (Gal. 3:6) Abraham was not righteous in and of himself. No one is. But Abraham believed the God who met with him and spoke to him. God asks the same of us. Then we become children of promise and then we receive our inheritance.

Originally published April 1, 1983.

Birds of Prey

God spoke to Abram in a vision: I am your shield, your very great reward. (Gen. 15:1 NIV) That sounds wonderful, but Abram was less than thrilled. He might have appreciated God as his shield, but in his world, children were a primary blessing. He and Sarah had none. He wanted a child and he said, O Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless. . . . (v. 2)

God answered by again promising Abram that he would receive a son. He promised land, too. And Abram was so free in God’s presence that he asked how he could believe God was really speaking to him. God replied by instructing him to prepare a specific sacrifice.

Abraham followed the instructions, but then something strange happened: birds of prey came down on the carcasses. . . . (v. 11) In this tender moment of communion with God—of knowing God’s divine love and attention—Abraham was forced to deal with wild animals that threatened to destroy his offering. He drove them away. (v. 11)

Was it a test? A challenge? Later than night, God spoke to him in a dream—revealing the future of his descendants. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram. (v. 18)

We don't know why God deals with people the way He does. Abraham's experience with birds of prey might not have seemed as strange to him as it does it us. Abraham somehow knew God was with him.

We, also, somehow know God is sovereign and that He is with us. And like Abraham, we might experience strange events when God comes to us with His promises. Then, like Abraham, we're called to trust Him. And like Abraham, we stand against whatever threatens to destroy our relationship with this God who speaks and offers promieses.

Originally published March 9, 1984.

Picture: Oriental poppy, Patty's garden, 2009. Photo by Solveig.

River of Life

Rivers offer much to the people who live on their banks. They bring water to thirsty people. Their water is used for household tasks such as washing clothes and floors. Many parts of the world use river water for irrigation, so they are important to farmers producing food. Sometimes rivers provide a mode of transportation. Industries often build along rivers because they need the water a river brings.
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A river’s importance was perhaps even more apparent in Biblical times than today. Although Abraham’s nephew Lot had traveled with his uncle, there came a time when they were too prosperous for the land to support both. Abraham—knowing he was blessed to be a blessing—offered Lot first pick, and Lot chose the valley of the River Jordan. He looked down and saw it was a well-watered plain. (Gen. 13)

Throughout the Bible, rivers provide an analogy for God’s blessing. A psalmist said, There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God. (Ps. 46:4 NIV) Although people who trust God are not immune to problems, they can turn to Him. And He becomes their personal life-giving river.

Originally published June 8, 1984.

Blessed to Bless Others

God said to Abram, I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. (Gen. 12:2 NKJV) Notice that God blessed Abram—later Abraham—so he could bless others. Blessings from God have value beyond the individual who receives them.

Lest there be any doubt, Abraham was blessed indeed. We learn in chapter 13:2 that he was rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. At one point he deployed a personal army of 318 of his own servants. (Gen. 14) He’s the recognized patriarch of several ethnic groups.

And in the spiritual realm, Christians from all ethnic groups claim Abraham as a forerunner and patriarch because he fathered the lineage of Jesus Christ—and he offers Christians and all people with an example of obedience and faith.

So as Christians called to live by faith, we’re also called to recognize that we receive blessings so we can bless others. Peter made this clear when he said, not returning evil for evil . . . but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. (I Pet. 3:9)

Truly, we are blessed—so we can bless others.

Originally published May 29, 1987.

Picture: Pink peonies in full bloom viewed from the street, West Fargo, 2009. Photo by Solveig.

The Time of Your Sojourning

Abraham was a sojourner. He lived in temporary dwellings—tents—among a people-group different than his people group. Although he did business with his Canaanite neighbors—coexisted with them profitably and peacefully—he was not part of their culture. Even when he became wealthy, he did not join their lifestyle.

As Abraham was a sonjourner, Christians are called to become sojourners. Christians are called to do business with their neighbors—co-exist with them profitably and peacefully—while not joining a worldly, Canaanite-type lifestyle.

Peter wrote, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your sojourning here in fear, knowing you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver and gold . . . but with the precious blood of Christ. . . . (II Pet. 1:;17-19 NJHV)

Because of the sojourner status, natural sources of stability, support, and release are not available to many Christians. They must look instead to a supernatural source. They must become firmly established in Jesus.

Originally published June 26, 1987.