WHEN WHAT YOU CAN'T SEE CAN REALLY HURT YOU
THIS PAST WEEK I was on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut gathering some final research for my dissertation at Dallas Seminary, and I was reminded again that our world can be a scary place. Scattered throughout the airports and train-stations in Newark, Boston and New Haven, Conn. were signs that read, "if you see something, say something." Then there's the TSA; who were very clear and forceful about the passengers' need to empty everything out of their pockets and remove everything from their person that could be perceived as a weapon. But the most troublesome news came in the form of a news story I read recently that provided a list of a wide range of items that have been detected and removed from people's carry on luggage in 2015. The list includes everything from firearms, fireworks, axes,large hunting knives, to ammunition and really scary stuff. Some of the more exotic finds included:
- 2655 firearms, of those, 2198 were loaded
- ten tubes of black powder
- Two pounds gun powder
- 600 rounds of ammunition
- Live flashbang grenade
Think flying is too dangerous? Just imagine what can happen if the train you are traveling on is piloted by an engineer hitting the curve too fast or under the influence, or if you pass the wrong person on the highway in your own vehicle.
I mention all of this because of the challenges that take place in life, just getting from one day to the next.
So, just imagine how Abram might have felt after returning from rescuing Lot and all the captured citizens of Sodom. Certainly, there were plenty in the humiliated camp of Kedorlaomer who wanted nothing more to hunt Abram down and extract some revenge for the exploitation of their defenses and the rescue of his human plunder. We might understand the fear that struck deeply into Abram's heart.
Maybe that's why in the very first lines of Genesis 15 God tells Abram not to be afraid, reminding him that He will be his protector and reward. I'll say more about this Sunday, but for now, let me conclude by giving you the payoff-- God grounds our future in Grace, a grace that makes us righteous, makes us "wealthy" in the best sense of the term, and makes us a family. No wonder, Abram believed God, and now way else, was righteousness credited to his account ( Genesis 15:6).
Are you one of Abram's kids?
