I have been reading the account of Abraham. It has struck me again, how this man, whose original name meant "exalted Father" and whose name given by God meant "Father of Nations" was chosen by God to enjoy a very special closeness with his own Father's heart. God himself is the ultimate Father. He is not just described as a father because he looked around in retrospect for something natural to compare himself with, but he is THE FATHER, from whom all fathers derive that position. He is the very definition of what it is to be a father. One of the most precious things in the world, next to finding saving grace in Christ, is to become a father and to experience some of that life-changing love that beats within the very heart of our God.
Abraham in particular, I believe was chosen by the Father to experience a special measure of closeness to His own Fatherhood.
First, he had to sacrifice his one and only Son. Something that as fathers is the most precious and sacred thing to us. Who can know the anguish that went through the Father's heart when he sent the Son to the cross? The anguish of the Son is recorded for us in Gethsemane where is tears fell like blood. But of the anguish of the Father, we have no direct account. Only through certain men in the scriptures: Abraham by his obedience, and Jephthah by his foolishness, do we gain an insight into what he endured. God chose Abraham to go through this testing "ordeal" not just to prove his faith, but to share his fellowship. A fellow father who could understand something of what the Father was to do on that very mountain some 2000 years later.
Next, we are told an account of how Abraham dispatched his servant to find a pure and suitable bride for his son. In this way he again captures the heart of our heavenly Father. This is the purpose of redemptive history, the culmination of the Kingdom, that the zeal of the Lord Almighty is single-mindedly and passionately throwing himself into. He is looking for a bride for his son. The Church, Christ's bride is being prepared by the Spirit of God, sent ahead with his message to come, and his gifts to prepare her. All he is looking for is for that willing spirit he found in Rebekah.
We often consider fellowship with Christ and with the Spirit, yet throughout the history of man we find that the Father himself is seeking fellowship with the man he made. That was the very reason he was created.
1 comment:
This is great Chris, you are so right and as you have said God is the very definition of Father and fatherhood. He gives us an example that we can only strive to aspire to and no doubt sadly fall short of. But what a joy it is in the striving and what an honour in the receiving, because as all fathers will know, we get so much back from our children than it ever costs us in being a parent.
Keep it up Chris, your insight and generous sharing is the highlight of my day.
Every blessing.
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