Meditations in Galatians #21,  Sunday, June 21, 2009    Galatians 3:29   "The Heirs"
______________________________________

"...and if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise. "

______________________________________


Lord, I know so little about Abraham. I want to know so many things about him. Why did You call him friend?  Why did You choose him to start with?  What was he like before you first spoke to him? Was he really that different from everyone else on the planet?  And if so, how?   And why did he do so many things that look stupid now?  Why did he go to Egypt without asking? Why did he twice make Sarah tell dangerous half-truths that put her in such  terrible predicaments, and resulted in bad relations with Pharoah and king Abimelech.  Why did he bring Lot? I didn't think You  wanted him to do that, and it caused so many more problems later. And why in the world did he accept his wife's Egyptian slave as a surogate mother? What was he thinking? And why didn't You stop him? Then You let him have that strange "negotiation" with You about Sodom. Its just too wierd.

And then there is all that You promised him. First there was all that land for his own descendants. And then one promise after another, about how many descendants he would have, and how all humanity would be blessed because of him. And then there's the mystery that Genesis does not record: both David and the New Testament make it clear that You promised Abraham eternal life. You completely overlooked all of the stupid things he did just because he believed Your promises. The promises You made to him must have sounded as wacky back then as they would if You made them to me today.   

Hmmm.... You are making those same promises to me right now? You are overlooking all of the stupid things I have done?  You are not saying that I am really any different from anyone else? And You are doing all of this just because I believe in Your Son? You are going to treat me as if I was a direct descendent of Abraham because of my faith? So its true that only those who believe in Jesus are going to be considered Abraham's heirs. No one receives eternal life except by inheriting the promise of eternal life You made to Abraham. So no one is actually an heir to the promise You made to Abraham because of bloodline, because only those of faith can share in Abraham's inheritance.

You made certain promises to Ishmael that You did keep according to the bloodline, but eternal life was not one of them. And the sons of Jacob did derive some benefit from several of the promises You made to Abraham, by means of thier bloodline, but eternal life was never inherited by literal birth by any human being ever.

I know that when You said "My ways are higher than Your ways," You were specifically talking about the way You show mercy to those who most obviously do not deserve it. Abraham is a great example. But so am I, though on a much smaller scale and in a less dramatic fashion.  So since I belong to Christ, I am Abraham's heir. And this is inspite of my own ignorance and failures.

Please help me to see all that Paul has been telling the Gqlatians:  because I belong to Jesus, I am not a slave to any religious law; I am not to be seperated by anyone due to race, status, or gender;  I have died with Him, so I am to be "wearing" Jesus' glory: I am a Son of God, and a descendent of Abraham, and therefore one who will inherit eternal life.

Does this mean that I need to go and study all the promises You made to Abraham? Oh, You want me to keep in mind that some of the promises were for him only, and not for his heirs. You mean I will not be having a son when I'm 100!?  (whew!) Father, I want to understand Abraham so well that if you ever need me to have a conversation about him with one of his biological heirs, Arab or Jew, I can help them see that it was his faith that You honored, and nothing else, and that they have no spiritual inheritance, unless they believe in Abraham's Descendent, "Jesus." He is Abraham's only true heir, and no one is an heir except through Him.

______________________________________

If you have a moment, leave me a note at the
Guestbook and let me know if God is using
these Meditations in your life. Thanks, Richard.
(Corrections are ok too!)


Deadright.net Guestbook


______________________________________

Thank You for giving me a few minutes of your time. Galatians is a unique letter. It will take some time to get into Paul's mind, and from there to understand what God has chosen to reveal through the disaster that the congregation at Galatia was experiencing.

The effect of these Meditations will be cumulative, and the real benefit may have nothing to do with what I have written. I believe that the discipline of having a brief daily conversation with God about the meaning of a variety of Bible passages over a period of a few weeks, even if you come to some very different conclusions, will still be a wonderful and enlightening experience for you. At DeadRight.net, under the Yellow Pages, is some background info about Galatians. If you missed an earlier Meditation, you can still read it at DeadRight.net by going to the homepage, clicking on Newsletter, and clicking on "browse previous newsletters