God’s Grace and Mercy Are Greater Still
I don't know about you, but I love the Old Testament stories. I love how they're stories about actual flesh-and-blood people who lived in real-time and dealt with complex, real-life issues. Just like you and me today.
Discouragement, fear, jealousy, greed, pride, depression, shame, guilt, worry, unforgiveness, regret, disappointment…
Betrayal, infidelity, infertility issues, misplaced priorities, prodigal children, sibling rivalry, financial losses, conflicts in the church, political turmoil…
It's all there. And it's oh-so-relatable.
Yes, there's much for you and me to learn from the Old Testament narratives. Lessons of inspiration and encouragement. Warnings, too.
And, not to forget, lessons of faith.
In the pages of Scripture, there are the faith-filled and the faithless. And some experienced both seasons where they crushed it in their walk with God and seasons where they messed up horribly!
For this latter group, Abraham comes to mind—or Abram, as his name was when God told him to leave his homeland (Genesis 12:1).
Abram had zero knowledge of where God was sending him. All he knew was that he would be traveling to a foreign country inhabited by pagans who were likely to want to chop his head off. Although God told Abram that He was going to bless him abundantly, Abram received no details on how or when the blessings would come (verses 2-3).
Talk about a test of faith! But in spite of all the uncertainties, Abram's response was one of complete and immediate obedience. He left everything he knew and set out on the almost five-thousand-mile foot journey with his wife and nephew to an obscure, undisclosed location of God's choosing.
It's for good reason Abram's name is listed in the "Hall of Faith" in Hebrews chapter 11!
Unfortunately, Abram made some wrong moves later on. Along the way, he got a bit out of step with God. He started to doubt the LORD's provision, which prompted him to lie about his marriage to his wife Sarai on two separate occasions (Genesis 12:11-20; 20:2-18).
Also, who can forget Abram's infamous interlude with Hagar, Sarai's maid?
God had promised Abram and Sarai, who was barren at the time, that they would conceive a child together in old age (Genesis 15:4; 18:10). When God lingered to fulfill this promise, Abram grew impatient. Figuring the LORD needed a helping hand, he took it upon himself to appoint Hagar as his wife's surrogate. Through his illicit liaisons with Hagar, Abram became the father of Ishmael (Genesis 16:15).
As we can see, although Abram got off to a running start, his faith journey wasn't exactly flawless.
He's in good company, though. There's also Noah, Moses, Jacob, David, Samson, Elijah, Gideon, Jonah, Peter, and many others—people in the Bible who loved God but weren't always tuned in to His will.
And isn't this the way it is with most of us today, too? One moment, we're doing fantastic, making spiritual strides and standing firm against temptation. Next thing, our flesh gets the best of us, and we act as if we don't even know what the Bible says!
But here's what's so comforting: Even when you and I aren't faithful to God, God remains one hundred percent faithful to us. Our sin never nullifies God's grace and mercy.
Going back to Abram's story, in Genesis chapter 15, we see a graphic demonstration of God's unconditional faithfulness. In verse 8, Abram asks God how he can know for a fact that he'll receive an heir as well as that sand-on-seashore, stars-in-the-sky number of descendants the LORD had promised him.
God graciously responds by making a covenant with Abram.
In the Bible, we learn that covenants between God and man generally came with conditions from God that both parties were required to meet. God's keeping His part of the agreement was contingent upon humans keeping theirs. But the covenant the LORD now makes with Abram, referred to as the Abrahamic Covenant, isn't like that. It's a unilateral covenant, meaning all the conditions lie with God!
God symbolizes this by passing between an arrangement of animal carcasses (verse 17). To walk through the middle of severed animal halves was a common ritual of that era and culture: it was how the parties involved in a pact would declare their commitment to follow through on their word.
What's noteworthy here is that God is the only one who performs the act. Abram is not required to do anything at all. In other words, as symbolized by this act, God willingly obligates Himself to keep His promises to Abram and fulfill His calling on Abram’s life regardless of what Abram and his descendants decide to do in response!
Sure enough, as Genesis wraps up Abram's story, we learn that the LORD continued to work mightily through the flawed patriarch precisely as He had pledged to do.
In spite of Abram's many missteps, God's grace and mercy remained constant!
God changed Abram's name to Abraham and Sarai's name to Sarah. And the couple received their promised heir in Isaac when Abraham was no less than 100 years old and Sarah 90 (Genesis 17:17).
They received their multitude of descendants, too, and from their family line, many generations later, came the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:1-17).
Friend, this is the God you and I serve! The Bible tells us our God the same today as He was back then (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8): faithful, steady, patient, and incredibly gracious and forgiving.
His promises stand forever. He loves us till the end. We cannot wreck His plans for us, no matter how hard we fall or how far we go in the wrong direction.
Today, if you feel like you've let Him down, please don't lose hope. Confess the sin, turn back to Him now, and be determined to learn from your mistakes.
Remember, God's grace and mercy are greater still. And He's not done with you yet.
L.B.
How have you experienced God’s grace and mercy in your life? Please share in the comments section below!
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