Have you ever been asked to pick up your whole life and move to a distant land? Maybe it wasn't a geographic move but an unexpected event happened, and you had to readjust. Maybe you felt like there was a huge opportunity for you in another place with a lot of promise. Maybe you literally heard the promise of a better life half way across the country--or the world--, and you took it, not knowing what it would yield.
As you continued on your journey, you lost heart, like Abram did. God promised him a great nation and a great blessing, but things didn't always go smoothly. It took more than 25 years to bear a son, the fulfillment of the original promise. Just when hope returned, another disruption! Remember when Abraham brought Isaac up the mountain to sacrifice him? Isaac represented the one way Abraham could see that God was going to come through on the promise, and that was going to be taken away! All seemed to be lost, but the story turned. God followed through on the promise.
Jesus took his disciples up the mountain, and they saw Moses and Elijah. For the ancient hearer of this text, they would immediately recognize this as proof of Jesus as the one who would restore all of creation to right relationship, as it was in the garden. Then a voice comes out of the clouds and repeats what was said at Jesus' baptism. God's greatest promise is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and the disciples bowed down.
Sometimes it seems like all is lost when traveling through that wilderness, but when we look over the history of God's loving action in the world, we can be confident that God's Word will be the last word. Struggle and sin and despair will not endure. Look to the stories of Abraham and Jesus. Take heart!
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