A New Sense of Understanding . . . and Appreciation!

My SS lesson this Sunday morning comes from Genesis 24 . . . and what a wonderful lesson it is. Abraham—the great man of faith—has been given direction by God over a long period of time. He has received promises and assurances from God about his life . . . and his descendants. He loves knowing of the security of his family going forward (what Dad wouldn’t?)

In Chapter 24, Abraham, knows that God’s promises can only be fulfilled if his son Isaac gets a wife—and the right wife! So he sends his unnamed servant back to his homeland to get a wife for his son. As one reads the chapter, you see the hand of God working and directing things beautifully to His desired conclusion. We can be assured that God works just as certainly and actively in the lives of His children today. In fact, I believe He delivered me to the exact place . . . exact time when and where I met Sandy all those years ago!

It is just such a part of human nature that we can be certain that each night as the servant and his entourage stopped with Rebecca and her girls to cook their evening meal and pitch the tents for the night’s rest, Rebecca had lots of questions about her husband-to-be. Finally, in verse 63, that meeting takes place. That was surely an exciting time for each of them and they loved each other in a special way . . . and in a way that would serve them well for many years to come.

As I thought on these things this morning, I was reminded that I have long held the belief that every verse of Scripture carries three applications, as follows:

1. It is historically true. The people were real and the events identified were true;

2. It is inspirational . . . it was included in Scripture to inspire and encourage us as well as every generation; and

3. There is a doctrinal application of truth therein.

In the events of Genesis 24, I see all three of those applications, but my real attention was drawn to the inspirational application. In that I see this as a picture of God the Father sending His servant (the Holy Spirit) out to gather a Bride for His only Son!

It occurred to me in a fresh new way . . . this morning that meeting is coming in the future and it is real . . . and it will be indescribable!

As you likely know, I have had a few serious struggles over the past three years and have done some serious soul-searching and thinking through this period of lonely nights of uncertainty and of what might be out ahead of me; yet, determined that I wanted to always try to please God with my faith and trust in Him.

As I thought this morning about that future meeting between the Bride and Groom, I thought of 1 Peter 1:3-9. I know that it would be nice and sweet for me to type those verses for you to read, but I am not going to do that. What I am going to do is to issue to you, here and now, a challenge for you to look up that passage and see if it helps you better understand some parts of your life experience, parts that have been confusing in the past.

It Seems to me . . . that the things I invest some time, effort, and energy into tend to have more meaning and value to me . . . and for me. I suspect it is like that for you, too . . .

What do you think?

 

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