He's Their God Too!

"What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there." Genesis 21:17b

He's Their God Too!
By Rev. William Dohle

The older I get the bigger the world seems to be!

Growing up, I sometimes thought the world ended at our block. Now I know that the world extends far past the boundaries of my sight. This world is a massive place! Even now, as you are reading this, there are people asleep in their beds. There are people right now, living their lives, doing good to their neighbor, working, struggling, surviving, eating, breathing, and living. You will never meet most of those people. But they exist!

This world is big! And our God is big! Our God is present with people of all walks of life. People who live in the hot jungles of Africa to people who live in the cold tundra of Canada. From the heights of the Andes to the dry desert of the Sahara. From the cities of New York to the plains of Montana. God is present in every place with believers throughout the world.

And not just with Christian believers either. God is present with those of other faiths too. Our lesson today reminds us that God has special designs for Hagar's son, the forefather of the Muslim faith. Ishmael, the oldest son of Abraham, is banished into the desert and it seems that all is lost. His own mother, Hagar, puts him under the bushes because she can't stand to see him die.

That is, until, God hears the boy crying and intervenes. In a touching exchange, God saves Hagar and her child, promising her "I will make him into a great nation."

Now, we can dismiss this. We can try to exclude people from God's grace. They don't know the truth like we do. But to do so is to ignore his presence in passages like these. These words, spoke to Hagar, are the same words that God spoke to Abraham earlier. "I will make you into a great nation." Do we dismiss this prayer too because Abraham isn't Christian? Why dismiss God's promises here to Ishmael then, just because we disagree on certain points with his descendants?

Whatever our faith is, we mustn't box God in. God is Lord of all the Universe! God has sent his Son, Jesus, to save us. But not just us! The entire universe! God will accomplish this too, not on our terms or by ways that we understand, but by his infinite wisdom and by his grace!

As Paul writes:
Oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments and his paths beyond tracing out!
Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?
Who has ever given to God that God should repay him?
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen! (Romans 11:33-36)

May God open your eyes that you might see the deliverance he has given all people. May you be so touched by God that you are able to discern what he is already doing in the lives of those around you.

Heavenly Father, Mighty God, you have designs that extend far past where my eyes can see. Give me the grace to accept what you give me and the faith to trust you in my life and in the world, in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Laughing With Sarah

"God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me." Genesis 21:6

Laughing With Sarah
By Rev. William Dohle

Thanksgiving is upon us. The season of giving thanks to God has arrived.

But what a world it has arrived into! Already, for weeks now, we've heard, not of thankfulness for what we have, but of want for what we don't as Christmas sales have arisen earlier this year than they ever did before. The Halloween holiday was quickly followed, not by a quiet time to ponder and give thanks, but by the rush of wanting more as stores throughout the country compete for the coveted Christmas dollars.

On top of all of this, we hear of impending government crises, wild protests throughout the country, the stock market's rollercoaster, and the growing din of political jargon.

Where has the time to give thanks gone? Have we forgotten what we are thankful for? Have we been so consumed being consumers in this world that we've forgotten that it's all gift? Every last bit of it?

Sarah didn't forget that! Not in the slightest. As she gave birth to Issac, a boy named "he laughs" she says, "God has brought me laughter! And now everyone who hears about this will laugh!"

God has brought Sarah laughter...why? Because he has done as he promised. In the verses preceding this we read: "Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised." God fulfilled his promise to Sarah! And now Sarah laughs! Truly laughs with delight for all the joy that God has poured into her life.

What's more is that she sees this joy, not just affecting her, but affecting all who hear about what has happened to her... including us! "Everyone who hears about this will laugh with me." That everyone includes you...and it includes me. We laugh because God has filled Sarah's life with joy. We laugh because God has done what he has promised to do.

For the same reasons we give thanks this thanksgiving as well. Our blessings are not just our blessings. We are blessed by the stories of old.

We are thankful that God fulfilled his promise to Sarah, just as he said, because it reminds us God fulfills his promises to us too!

We are thankful for the deliverance that God brought to his people Israel, for it is the same deliverance he brings to us too.

We are thankful for his love for his servant David, for it reminds us that God can love us too.

We are thankful this thanksgiving, not just for our personal blessings and what God has done for us and our family, but for what God has done for his people of old and for what he continues to do for his people in this place.

We are thankful for people throughout the world who are working for justice and mercy on behalf of God's people.

We are thankful for pastors and teachers, professors and scholars, who challenge us to see God's Word in a different way.

We are thankful for those who work in public service to others, those who sacrifice their own time to help us, and those who are working for God's kingdom in small ways.

We are thankful for them all!

This Thanksgiving, before you run out and join the consumer throng waiting outside the local store, give thanks for all God's blessings. Give thanks for the farmers who have brought your meal to your table. Give thanks for the workers who will be waiting for you in the stores. Give thanks for all the minds behind all the gadgets you buy. For they are all gifts of God. Give thanks...and laugh...for what God has done for Sarah and for what he continues to do for us.

Lord God, may our laughter join Sarah's laughter as we remember and see how you have so richly blessed us. Give us pause this thanksgiving that, despite the noise of commercialism raging around us, we may truly give you thanks, not just for our blessings, but for the blessings you have poured our on all your people, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Uncertain Motives

"But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt." Genesis 19:26

Uncertain Motives
By Rev. William Dohle

There is one question I will never have answered adequately enough. It confronts me daily almost, in every encounter with every person.

That question is: Why?

Why... do people act the way they do?
Why... did they choose this over that?
Why... must you suffer in that way?
Why?

My need to understand the motivations behind behaviors confronts me too in Scripture. For instance, in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah...

Why... did God destroy Sodom again?
Why... didn't Abraham ask for the WHOLE city to be saved?
Why... isn't God merciful in this case?

And most of all...
Why... does Lot's wife look back the way she did?

This last question has always fascinated me. Why DID Lot's wife look back?

Was she disobedient to God's command... as some claim she was.
Did she wish she was back in Sodom with her friends?
Did she just forget?

Why did Lot's wife turn back?

That question we'll never know the answer to. But there is one possible explanation I like. It tells of Lot's two other daughters, both married, who were stuck in Sodom at the time of its destruction. Lot's wife, remembering her other children were suffering in the city, turns back in grief. Her grief is so great that it turns her into one big tear, one large pillar of salt.

I wonder if we, being in her shoes, would have done the same. Would we have pressed our eyes firmly toward the uncertain future that God had for us? Or would we take a glance backward, maybe more than a glance in that general direction, distracting ourselves from the future God has planned and promised with the suffering that was behind us? Would we have the faith to see what we still had or would we focus instead on what we lost?

Ironically, when faced with turning his back on the destruction of others or pressing onward, God himself in Jesus Christ turns back to us. And not only that but Jesus doesn't just turn back to look at our suffering, but enters into the burning city of Lot himself, marking himself with our death, carrying us on his shoulders out through the flames of wrath, to life eternal with him. So that, in Jesus Christ, we are not pillars of salt, turned toward the suffering world, but salt itself, full of the taste and smell of our loving God!

Gracious and merciful God, as you did not leave this suffering world but gave your life up for it, may we too turn back toward the suffering of others, that we, filled with your grace, might give a taste of your mercy and love, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Standing Up...For Others!

"Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?" Genesis 18:25b

Standing Up...for Others!
By Rev. William Dohle

I love Dr. Seuss! I love the way he words things and the flow of words that he uses. I love the stories he tells of the ordinary things. And I love how they sound so parabolic!

My favorite story of his is probably The Lorax. In this tale, an old man(the Once-ler) tells the tale to a young man of when his valley was filled with life and trees. Foolishly the Once-ler got so greedy he ended up destroying the valley and chasing off the life that lived there. The story features a curious character called "The Lorax" who speaks to the Once-ler about what he's doing.

"I speak for the trees," The Lorax says. "I speak for the trees 'cause the trees have no tongues.

The Lorax speaks for the trees. He pleads for the trees. He takes their cause upon himself. He suffers for them. He rallies for them. He does the same to all the life in the valley. He knows them all and pleads on their behalf.

The Lorax reminds me of Abraham. Just before Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed, Abraham has a heart to heart talk with God, pleading for mercy on behalf of the people of Sodom.

"Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it...Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?"

Talk about bold! But Abraham gets his way.

"If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place?

But Abraham doesn't stop there. "...what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?"

God relents again. Abraham pressed. Forty? God relents. And how about twenty? God agrees. Finally Abraham makes his final plea.

"May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there." And God gives in all because Abraham spoke out.

Another character too speaks out, only this time for us. Christ Jesus himself stands before God, pleading on our behalf. Much like Abraham did before, he takes our cause upon himself. He pleads our case. He knows our suffering and our weakness. He knows our failings and our shortcomings. He knows us. He's been in our shoes. And he pleads for us before God. He speaks for us.

So...who do you speak for? Who do you plead for? When your prayers are said to God, who are you praying for? Are your prayers centered solely around your family and your own problems? Or is there something more to them? Are there people whose problems touch your heart and your life? Would you be bold enough to stand up before God himself to ask him to grant them mercy and grace?

The Lorax leaves one word behind when he's lifted away. The word "Unless." The Once-ler figures what out what means. "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."

Take a cue from the Lorax...and Abraham...and even Christ Jesus himself. Start caring! Start caring for God's creation. Take just a corner of it to latch onto. Start caring for God's people. You don't need to take the world on your shoulders. Just share the burden. Start caring about what happens in this world. You are the righteous in Christ. You are Abraham's children. Stand up as Abraham did, take their cause as your cause, and truly be Christ to your neighbor.

God of Abraham, make us bold enough to stand up in defense of others. Forgive our stubborn, selfish, judgemental natures. Make us like your servant, Abraham, and your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.