Saturday, January 20, 2007

Sarah

We learn from the saints that have gone before us. There have been many who have provided examples of great faith, an encouragement to us to stand strong when things seem impossible. When Sarah was made aware she would give birth even though she was beyond childbearing age, did she rejoice? Did she believe the impossible and give glory to God who could make it possible?

No. She laughed [Genesis 18:9-12]. It was preposterous. She giving birth after all those years of not being able to? Was this some kind of joke on God’s part?

Sarah was definitely not acting in faith. Certainly not as an example of a great saint for us to follow. And there’s no question she was wrong in it. That was made clear to her [Genesis 18:13-15].

But God kept His promise. And He did that despite Sarah’s lack of faith. What we may forget is that God kept His promise also despite the great patriarch Abraham’s lack of faith. He in fact thought God’s promise preposterous even before Sarah did, laughing himself at the thought [Genesis 17:17].

These great saints of old aren’t so unlike us after all. They had times of doubting God’s Word even as we do. Also like us, they had a merciful God. In repentance we see that God’s greatest Word to us is His Word of forgiveness. We definitely need that as Sarah and Abraham did. He forgave them. He kept His promise of giving them a son, one who brought Sarah laughter again, this time of joy [Genesis 21:1-7].

God has kept His promise to us also in giving us His Son. In Him is the forgiveness we need and the laughter of eternal joy.

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