The Only Thing Left

"I am an alien and a stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead." Genesis 23:4

The Only Thing Left
By Rev. William Dohle

My kids are SOO excited! For two weeks now they have been jumping up and down at our house, eagerly awaiting the fateful unwrapping of gifts.

This year we made it terribly frustrating for them too for we set out already most of the gifts they are receiving. Now that they've seen them, their shape, their texture, the way they shake in their hands, they are dying to open them.

Of course I know the novelty will fade. A few short minutes into Christmas and all the mystery will be revealed. And after a few weeks of playing with their toys, they will want more. More games, more things, more stuff. I know they'll want more...because I always want more. One Christmas is never enough. There's always another one just a year away.

So what do you have to hold onto? What will remain? After this Christmas and next Christmas and all the Christmases of your life are past, what will remain of you? What will people remember? What will you have that lasts?

Even the patriarch, Abraham, faced this question as he mourned the death of his wife, Sarah. What does he truly own? Abraham, who has lived, in his own words, as "an alien and a stranger among you" owns no property or land. He has no home to call his own. He doesn't even own a cave to bury his wife in! He owns no property or land in the place he's been living most of his life.

It's only after some negotiating with the Hitties that he purchases the only bit of property he'll own: a burial cave and field for him and his wife Sarah. In that cave, he places Sarah's body. Later, after remarrying and siring six more children, Abraham too is buried there.

But that's not where Abraham's story ends. For Abraham himself carries nothing with him into death but his faith. And it is the faith of Abraham that is remembered by Paul thousands of years later. It is by the faith of Abraham that we call ourselves "children of Abraham" for it is his faith that began everything.

Paul tells us: "Understand then that those who have faith are children of Abraham."(Galatians 3:7).

Abraham's faith lasts through the centuries. Far after his sheep and goats have all died. Far his tents have all gone to dust. Far after everything he owns has disintegrated, Abraham's faith lasts...even to today!

Our legacy is the same way. We too can leave with our children our faith. Everything else we might leave them will fade away with time. But that faith, the faith we have in our God planted in our children, will outlive us. It will be passed, as Abraham's faith was, from generation to generation, throughout the centuries. As the faith we have has been inherited from those who came before us, so too our faith is inherited and shared with those who come after us making that the best Christmas gift we could ever want.

"Come one and all! Enjoy the faith that will outlast all the other toys in your life. Take it, enjoy it, and share it with others. For this is the gift that will truly last forever!"

Heavenly Father, thank you for the faith you have planted in our lives. Make us aware of your precious gift, given to us this Christmas. May we give it to others as you have freely given it to us, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

No Way!

"Then God said, 'Take your son, your only son, Issac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.'...When they reached place God had told him about, abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son." Genesis 22:2, 9-10

No Way!
By Rev. William Dohle

My children, like many children I imagine, hate chores! They really despise them. For instance...We tell them one day: "Pick up your room."

And at first they pretend not to hear us.

"Pick up your room."

And they look, questioning, in our direction.

"I said, pick up your room."

And then they say, "Huh?"

"You better pick up your room!"

And then the fit starts! Our oldest throws himself on the ground in a fit. Our middle child continues to ignore us. And our daughter starts crying out for help.

"Pick up your room!"

Finally one or the other slumps into the room. The daughter is still crying for help. The middle is still looking clueless on the floor, but the oldest goes to work, however reluctantly and angrily.

All from one simple command: Clean up your room.

Imagine if that was the response Abraham had when God asked him to do the unthinkable: to kill his son. It would make an excellent comedy!

"Abraham! Take your son and go to the mountain to sacrifice him."
"Huh?" Says Abraham, half-heartedly.
"Take your son."
"You talkin' to me?" Abraham replies.
"Abraham listen!"
"Oh... do I have to!? Didn't I just do it?"
"Abraham! Go! Now!"
"Alright! Alright! I'll go! Just chill out!"

Of course Abraham doesn't do this. Abraham does what God asks him to. He takes the son he loves. He binds him up. And he raises the knife, as if the sacrifice the boy. Then, and only then, does God intervene and tell him to stop, saying, "Now I know that you fear God because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."(vs. 12)

Thankfully God doesn't ask us to sacrifice our children. He's already done the dirty deed for us. He sacrificed his Son on the cross for us. And, unlike Isaac who is spared the knife, Jesus suffers death on the cross for us and in our stead. We needn't obey God in the impossible. Instead, we are called to obey him in the possible tasks around us.

"He has shown you, O Mortal, what is good and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God."(Micah 6:8)

Will we, like our children, make excuses to cover us? Will we put off what God is asking of us to do? Will we say it's just too hard or that we have too many other things to do? Is God going to understand if we have baseball games, football games, basketball games, or some other commitments that we've made? Or might he just be anxious for our answer...and our response?

Will we feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, heal the sick, and visit the imprisoned...or not? What is your answer?

Heavenly Father, you have already done the impossible by sacrificing your Son. You have done what even Abraham wasn't required to do for us. May we set our eyes on the possible deeds around us that all might be done to the glory of your name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Expanded Compassion

"'Now swear to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or my descendants. Show to me and the country where you are living as an alien the same kindness I have shown you.' Abraham said, 'I swear it.'" Genesis 21:23

Expanded Compassion
By Rev. William Dohle

'Tis the season to be generous! Generous to our loved ones. Generous to our churches. Generous to those in need.

As thousands flock to the stores in search of the perfect gift for their loved ones so come those seeking help for those in need. Christmas is notorious for giving and each Christmas season you find thousands of charities asking for help, each with their target audience.

There are the Toys for Tots group...spearheaded by the Marines...out to give kids toys for Christmas.

There's the Salvation Army bell ringers, in front of the stores, ringing bells for the hungry and needy they minister to.

There is, of course, your local food bank who have, I hear, been hit hard by the needs of people searching for something to eat.

We all have our charities we give to and causes that mean something to us. It's part of who we are.

And it's part of what makes this season so great. This season of giving that extends past our individual families into the world around us.

But imagine if that compassion, that giving, had no end. Imagine extending that giving past the 25 days of Christmas and into the rest of the year. Into the rest of our lives. Imagine promising to be generous and faithful to someone, and their children, and their grandchildren, forever!

That's the promise Abraham makes to Abimelech and Phicol, leaders of the Philistines. With Abraham living in their land, these leaders aim to ensure that Abraham will return the blessings they have bestowed on him.

What Abraham does, though, far exceeds their expectations.

"So Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech and the two men made a treaty. Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock, and Abimelech asked Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs you have set apart by themselves?" He replied, "Accept these seven lambs from my hand as a witness that I dug this well."

Now this act might not make sense to us, but imagine it a more modern way.

Imagine being asked for a shirt...and giving someone a suit.
Imagine being asked for dollar, and being given a hundred dollars.
Imagine asking for a little help...and receiving the promise of help forever.
Imagine committing to giving something...and giving a little more on top of it.

That's the generosity that Abraham has!

And that's the generosity his children (us by faith) are called to have as well. It's a generosity that extends past a single season of giving into a lifetime of generous living. Generosity that isn't just concerned with doing what is right, but going beyond right to doing what is good.

A generosity that, in Jesus words, "Gives to everyone who asks of you."

It's amazing! And crazy! But it can happen! As Abraham shows in his reaction to Abimelech, we too can extend our generosity past the Christmas season and into the rest of our lives by doing just a little more than what is expected of us. We too can respond to the generosity of the Lord, the Eternal God, with generous hearts toward others.

Generous God, you have given us the world! You have given us your Son and we are truly thankful. Make us generous in all things that we might be like your servant, Abraham, going above and beyond all expectations, beyond what is right to doing what is good, through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.