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Heavenly credit
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Sep. 2nd, 2008 | 11:27 pm
location: Home
mood: 
happy
music: None
Genesis 15:6
"Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness."
This is another perfect example of one of those verses in one of those passages I've read a number of times. Once again, I prayed before I read it. Once again, I saw something in it I had never seen before. Reading the Bible reminds me of lightning: it never strikes the same place twice. God is good. :)
Like most Americans, I am quite in touch with my credit cards...sometimes in a little too much touch. The concept of credit is quite simple. Your credit account is assigned a spending limit, and you're allowed to make purchases of any sort up to that limit. That spending limit is established by the lender based on your credit history. If you develop a history of paying back your credit on time and in full, you establish a good credit history. The better your credit history, the larger your spending limits in the future. Pretty simple, right?
As I read the story of Abram/Abraham, the credit concept rears its head, but in a splendid way. In the beginning of Genesis 15, Abram (Hebrew for "exalted father"; note the singularity of fatherhood here) is in conversation with God, telling Him how he has no children to inherit his household. The sufficient response from God would have been, "I will give you a child, Abram." But God occasionally goes the extra mile for us. "Look up at the heavens and count the stars," He tells Abram, "if indeed you can count them. [...] So shall your offspring be" (Genesis 15:5). Abram believed, and the Lord credited to Abram righteousness through faith. Read the history books, and you'll find out that Abram became known as Abraham (Hebrew for "father of a multitude"; note the plurality of fatherhood here), the man through whom the nation of Israel was conceived.
Did you see the heavenly credit at work there? God told Abram that he would have children...not just a couple, but as many children as there were stars in the sky. Abram believed, and God gave him credit. Abram upped his credit limit from father of one to father of many. How? By demonstrating his faith. Abram earned credit with God through faith. God gave Abram credit for making the effort to believe in something he would never live to see: his descendants being as numerous as the stars in the sky. Were Abraham alive in 2006, he would know that his credit with God enabled him to be the father of over six million (look at it: 6,000,000) people. That's the kind of change I wanna see in my credit limit with God.
Faith is a powerful thing. When we have it, God gives us credit. Be faithful in the little things, and God puts you in charge of the bigger things (Matthew 25:21). Ask for one thing, receive over six million. Such is the power of building credit with God through faith.
How's your credit with God these days? :)
"Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness."
This is another perfect example of one of those verses in one of those passages I've read a number of times. Once again, I prayed before I read it. Once again, I saw something in it I had never seen before. Reading the Bible reminds me of lightning: it never strikes the same place twice. God is good. :)
Like most Americans, I am quite in touch with my credit cards...sometimes in a little too much touch. The concept of credit is quite simple. Your credit account is assigned a spending limit, and you're allowed to make purchases of any sort up to that limit. That spending limit is established by the lender based on your credit history. If you develop a history of paying back your credit on time and in full, you establish a good credit history. The better your credit history, the larger your spending limits in the future. Pretty simple, right?
As I read the story of Abram/Abraham, the credit concept rears its head, but in a splendid way. In the beginning of Genesis 15, Abram (Hebrew for "exalted father"; note the singularity of fatherhood here) is in conversation with God, telling Him how he has no children to inherit his household. The sufficient response from God would have been, "I will give you a child, Abram." But God occasionally goes the extra mile for us. "Look up at the heavens and count the stars," He tells Abram, "if indeed you can count them. [...] So shall your offspring be" (Genesis 15:5). Abram believed, and the Lord credited to Abram righteousness through faith. Read the history books, and you'll find out that Abram became known as Abraham (Hebrew for "father of a multitude"; note the plurality of fatherhood here), the man through whom the nation of Israel was conceived.
Did you see the heavenly credit at work there? God told Abram that he would have children...not just a couple, but as many children as there were stars in the sky. Abram believed, and God gave him credit. Abram upped his credit limit from father of one to father of many. How? By demonstrating his faith. Abram earned credit with God through faith. God gave Abram credit for making the effort to believe in something he would never live to see: his descendants being as numerous as the stars in the sky. Were Abraham alive in 2006, he would know that his credit with God enabled him to be the father of over six million (look at it: 6,000,000) people. That's the kind of change I wanna see in my credit limit with God.
Faith is a powerful thing. When we have it, God gives us credit. Be faithful in the little things, and God puts you in charge of the bigger things (Matthew 25:21). Ask for one thing, receive over six million. Such is the power of building credit with God through faith.
How's your credit with God these days? :)