Advent, Day 3

PROMISES OF LIGHT

Mankind lived on as a shadow of its former self—with only an inkling or passing remembrance of the dignity that was our original destiny. God had intended people to be happiest when they were in close, safe relationships with God and one another. But people kept betraying and hurting one another, and so they never experienced life as it was meant to be lived. They were like cars in a world without roads, or like kites in a world without wind—they never felt more than passing glimpses of true life—the life they were made for. And whenever one of those glimpses came, the humans would fight one another for it, stifling the very sparks they so desperately longed for.

It was very dark. But God was not done, because God is not scared of the dark.

No, God found a man named Abraham, who was willing to go along with God (most of the time) and that was all the opening God needed. It was like a secret operation. God launched a silent amphibious assault against a world in dark rebellion and before Satan knew it, God had pieced the stony walls that held mankind in darkness and the light of God’s promises began pouring through the cracks! God said to Abraham: Go from your country, your people, and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse, and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. Genesis 12:1-3

BOOM. The light was back! God had made a second promise to mankind, a second little ray of light that pointed like a laser toward a future hope. God was going to bless all the peoples on earth through a man named Abraham. Those two promises pointed like lasers toward a single point in the future. Maybe Abraham’s son would be the baby boy who would crush the head of evil! That would explain everything! The angels in heaven must have eagerly squinted to see what would happen next. But what happened next… was not good.

Abraham’s wife couldn’t get pregnant. They couldn’t have a son. So much for the promised head crusher…
Then it got worse. The angels watched in horror as Abraham took his wife Sarah, on whom all God’s promises hinged, and tried to give her away. Twice! Then, after God worked wonders to sort all that out, Sarah doubted God’s ability to come through on his promises, so she gave away her husband, on whom all God’s promises hinged. She gave Abraham to her handmade, Hagar, whom she also enslaved. Then she tried to banish and kill Hagar. It was all going very badly. It was getting very dark. But God was not afraid of the dark. God did not give up on his promises, even when his people gave up on them. God was working a secret rescue mission, despite all the failures and compromises of his people.

DAILY SCRIPTURE READING
When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you… As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”
– Genesis 17:1-7, 15-17

And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
– Genesis 21:2-7

REFLECTION QUESTIONS
– God’s blessing to Abraham mentioned all nations. What does this say about the scope of God’s rescue mission?
– Why do you think God chose Abraham, even after he (and Sarah) kept making mistakes? – After God promised Abraham descendants, it was many years before Abraham and Sarah could conceive. Why do you think God sometimes waits so long to fulfill his promises?
– Are there any promises of God that you are weary of waiting on? What does the Abraham story teach us about the God on whom we wait?

PRAYER
Thank you, Father, for launching a rescue mission, even though we mess up a lot and make poor partners. Thank you that you continue to use imperfect people, and invite us to become more like Jesus. Please use our family as part of your rescue mission. Help us to bring light to the darkness around us.

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