Bookends for living

Genesis 15:1 (NIV)  After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." 

The verses selected for today are like bookends on the shelf of life. This first verse finds God telling Abram not to be afraid. He went on to let Abram know that He (God) was his shield and reward.  Shield against what?  Reward for what?  Who knows?  If Abram was anything like the rest of the human race, he feared many things.  

As a warrior he probably worried about his next battle or the repercussions from the last one. Perhaps his enemies were strong and aggressive, maybe they were small and insignificant, but they were real. Just as ours are real.  One of Abram fears was leaving the world without an heir.  Maybe your fear is similar.  Does infertility hang its hat on the hook in your hallway?

Genesis 15:6 (NIV) Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. 


At some point Abram started to believe God.  His life took on new meaning because of his faith. Can you recall when your faith began to take on a new shape, when you felt differently about God and His promises?  A right relationship with God is based on faith.  It is not what we do, but what we believe. It is how we act out our faith by trusting; by surrendering, by giving it to God.

Our actions do nothing to add to our righteousness.  Nothing we can do, no good deed, no noble act, nothing will give us righteousness. The only thing that makes us blameless in the eyes of God is the blood His Son poured out for us.  The blood of the Lamb covered us, blanketing our sin with His goodness and perfection.

When we live our life between these two bookends, Trust and Faith, we are living life to the fullest.

Genesis 15:1-6

1 Corinthians 15:42-49

"So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body." (1 Corinthians 15:42-44)

For anyone who has ever experienced the death of a loved one, a Believer, these words bring comfort.  For anyone who has ever watched someone they loved die from cancer or another terrible disease, find peace in the words above. I did, and I still do today.  

God has promised us a new body, a Resurrection body that is perfect and more than we could ever hope for or dream about.  That is beyond comprehension, isn’t it?  To think that one day we will be resurrected into eternity, new and without flaw and we will never perish again, we will never sin again, we will never die again.  Whew, it makes all we endure worthwhile.

Now, I feel the most important goal in this life time is to get to heaven and to bring as many people with me as I can.  Are you feeling that way too?

And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man. (1 Corinthians 15:49)


Read the selected text, 1 Corinthians 15:42-49, here.  Listen to an audio recording here.