I'm studying through the Torah right now and it's really interesting. (If you wanna know what i'm talking about go here: http://torahclass.com/download.html)
Anyway, I was thinking about how God blessed Abraham and how God blessed Isaac, and how God blessed Jacob and Leah and Rachel and blessing and blessing and blessing and then i'm like....
...so where's mine, huh?
And then I thought, Jessica, you idiot...you wanna be blessed like Rachel and share your husband with your older sister? Or...maybe you wanna be blessed like Abraham and wander around all your life? How about Joseph and be in prison for years?
So...that nipped that pity party in the bud...
But then I got to thinking about some other stuff. But before I get into that...this is something Tom Bradford (from Torah Class) pointed out. Have you ever thought about how God really didn't talk that much to people in the Hebrew Scriptures? Like...to us, we get this idea that all God ever did back then was appear to guys and tell them stuff. So we think, 'Yeah, if God appeared to me constantly, of COURSE I would believe in Him!' But the funny thing is: think of all that dead space in between. I mean...they didn't have a Bible they could just open. They had to rely on these chance meetings and no specific time scheduled for the next one. Abraham lived well over 100 years and only talked to God a handful of times! I don't think about that very much.
But I digress...
My point is blessing. What does it mean? Our idea of blessing is very different from God's. I always think that blessing should happen--not only on this earth--but immediately. And when I see others getting things and money and fame, and I'm not getting them...I get jealous and covetous. These are probably two reasons why God could care less about material things. Not only are they not lasting, but we fall into the sin of resentment when we do not have them.
But then there is that nagging idea of, "But God has promised me a good future if I obey Him! So...if I'm obeying Him...why am I still suffering?" The answer is relatively simple. Number one, this earth is a place of sin and there's really no escaping it's pain. However, unlike hell which is totally a place of punishment and suffering, the earth is a place of learning and maturing.
Number two...okay, so you are living for Him. But...have you obeyed the whole law? Yeah, didn't think so. Only One completely followed and fulfilled the law...and what happened to Him on this earth??? So, it probably has nothing to do with how good we think we are on this earth. Nor does the blessing probably have anything do with being blessed on this earth. I would venture to say that "good future" has nothing to do with anything on this earth.
But where is Christ now? Sitting at the right hand of God...so it all works out. And if we trust Him, we'll be with Him for all the rest of eternity.
Anyway, I was thinking about how God blessed Abraham and how God blessed Isaac, and how God blessed Jacob and Leah and Rachel and blessing and blessing and blessing and then i'm like....
...so where's mine, huh?
And then I thought, Jessica, you idiot...you wanna be blessed like Rachel and share your husband with your older sister? Or...maybe you wanna be blessed like Abraham and wander around all your life? How about Joseph and be in prison for years?
So...that nipped that pity party in the bud...
But then I got to thinking about some other stuff. But before I get into that...this is something Tom Bradford (from Torah Class) pointed out. Have you ever thought about how God really didn't talk that much to people in the Hebrew Scriptures? Like...to us, we get this idea that all God ever did back then was appear to guys and tell them stuff. So we think, 'Yeah, if God appeared to me constantly, of COURSE I would believe in Him!' But the funny thing is: think of all that dead space in between. I mean...they didn't have a Bible they could just open. They had to rely on these chance meetings and no specific time scheduled for the next one. Abraham lived well over 100 years and only talked to God a handful of times! I don't think about that very much.
But I digress...
My point is blessing. What does it mean? Our idea of blessing is very different from God's. I always think that blessing should happen--not only on this earth--but immediately. And when I see others getting things and money and fame, and I'm not getting them...I get jealous and covetous. These are probably two reasons why God could care less about material things. Not only are they not lasting, but we fall into the sin of resentment when we do not have them.
But then there is that nagging idea of, "But God has promised me a good future if I obey Him! So...if I'm obeying Him...why am I still suffering?" The answer is relatively simple. Number one, this earth is a place of sin and there's really no escaping it's pain. However, unlike hell which is totally a place of punishment and suffering, the earth is a place of learning and maturing.
Number two...okay, so you are living for Him. But...have you obeyed the whole law? Yeah, didn't think so. Only One completely followed and fulfilled the law...and what happened to Him on this earth??? So, it probably has nothing to do with how good we think we are on this earth. Nor does the blessing probably have anything do with being blessed on this earth. I would venture to say that "good future" has nothing to do with anything on this earth.
But where is Christ now? Sitting at the right hand of God...so it all works out. And if we trust Him, we'll be with Him for all the rest of eternity.
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5 comments:
I've been thinking a lot about what you said in regard to our being here on earth as a time of maturation and growth - but it's so true. I often find myself slipping into old habits and ways of thinking - thank you for helping to remind me of key principles.
You know what else this caused me to think about? How easy it is for me to fall into the trap that because I'm a Christian life should be easy - even the Apostle Paul admonished that being a Christian would not be easy and Jesus said "take up your cross and follow me." How easy it is for me to forget sometimes what being a Christian is all about.
PS: I think our promise lies in Galations 6:9 & 10. But also I Cor. 9:24-27
i think you are right. i also think on the flip side, a lot of christians get it in their heads that they can only be christians if they suffer,...so...they complain about everything as thought they are suffering and get a martyr complex about everything. i know i get into that thinking sometimes, and it's just as wrong!
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