• Home
  • Freedom
  • Historical Ramble

Steve's Free

Chains really didn't work for me.

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« Puppy Love
How Are You Wired? »

Barren…or Boundless

February 22, 2009 by Steve Woodruff

Abraham had a choice.

His wife, Sarah, was barren. Despite all efforts, they had not been able to have a child. And now both were old, well beyond child-bearing years.

starclusterAnd yet, God had come to Abraham, and promised that he would become the patriarch of a great nation. More descendants than he could count. God had even appeared to Abraham in a stroll of the night, told him to look up at the stars, and see if he could count them (no light pollution back then!) – and said, “…so shall  your descendants be.”

Abraham the childless. Sarah the barren. God the promiser of impossibilities.

What did Abraham do? “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.”

Abraham could stare at the barrenness and disbelieve. Or he could look at the boundless stars, created by the same powerful God who made a re-creative promise, and have faith. Abraham believed.

This call to naked faith in the face of an insurmountable barrier seems other-worldly, even delusional. These living fossils, with a track record of only failure and disappointment, having a child? Meanwhile, the years rolled on. So when the promise was repeated 13 years later, Abraham laughed, and when Sarah heard of it, she laughed as well.

And one year later, they had a son, named Isaac (meaning: “he laughs”). So their faith was a bit shaky during the long fulfillment waiting period. That didn’t shake God up at all. What appears impossible to men is not only possible, but certain with God. Yet, there’s much more involved here than the birth of a miracle child…

What about this righteousness referenced in the text? In the New Testament, the apostle Paul points to this ancient incident as a pivotal illustration of the very heart of the gospel. What does Abraham’s believing God, in the face of impossibility, have to do with being pronounced as righteous before him?

Justification (being pronounced fully forgiven and righteous before God) by faith is the central message of the Christian gospel. The believer sees him/herself as utterly barren, without any ability to bring forth life in the form of love for God, obedience to His commands, and self-sacrificing love for others. All attempts at righteousness are “filthy rags” – more mockery than sincerity, since underlying them is a go-it-alone disposition that doesn’t care for God at all.

Seeing oneself as hopelessly defiled and guilty, standing in a cesspool of sins past and present, with no hope for self-improvement that would even begin to approach righteousness or holiness, the sinner is gently confronted by God, who points to the boundless stars. He points to a fully-righteous Son who was not stained by sin, but who died in the place of sinners, and says, “Believe.” He says, “I will exchange those rags, that filth, that guilt, that utter barrenness, with the boundless righteousness of My Son. But not on the basis of anything you’ve done or can do. Not because of any religious observances. Not for any acts of outward goodness. Only out of undeserved grace. Believe. Cease your selfish rebellion, cease your fruitless self-efforts, and be my renewed son or daughter. Believe.”

Righteous before a perfectly holy God? Forgiven for all guilty sins, committed in dark corners or even in the full light of day? Moved from the status of guilty criminal to beloved and forgiven child, solely on the basis of self-forgetting, and God-affirming, belief?? Shedding the rags of my uncleanness for garments of righteousness – a pure gift from a gracious God? Impossible. You laugh!

Surely there’s a list of 47 things I must do to show penance; surely I must “work off” all the bad karma I’ve left in my wake; surely I’ve got to follow in the footsteps of cloistered monks of old and live in impoverished self-denial in order to…in order to what? Pretend you’re something other than what you are? Giving up Facebook for Lent won’t pay off a single sin, nor will it make you a shred closer to a holy God. He’s not impressed with empty works.

No, we must learn to laugh at our futile efforts, putting them aside to gaze at a boundless God whose boundless power and promises are the only hope for those afflicted with sin. Within is only barrenness. Righteousness comes as a gift, from the only One who can bestow it, and He gives it to any and all who believe. You, like Abraham, have a choice. Will it be barrenness? Or boundlessness?

Believe.

(image credit)

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Print
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in Faith, Inspiration, Life, Musings, Truth | 2 Comments

2 Responses

  1. on February 22, 2009 at 7:51 pm Douglas Karr

    Faith is the foundation of all success, isn’t it? I sometimes think that it’s more difficult to lack faith than to have it. Lack of faith means that this is all chance and that, regardless of how we treat one another or act, that it has no impact on our futures.


  2. on March 10, 2009 at 1:13 pm Terro

    Every time I mess up again, I am grateful that God does not abandon me.



Comments are closed.

  • Connect with Steve Woodruff


    SteveWoodruff.com
  • Subscribe!

    Subscribe in a reader
  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

  • Bookmark

    AddThis Social Bookmark Button
  • Add to Technorati Favorites
  • Alltop, all the top stories
  • Recent Posts

    • The Devastating, Leveling Logic of the Apostle Paul
    • On Being Half Right
    • Labels
    • Breaking the Rules
    • The All-in One (or is it Three?)
  • a

  • Archives

    • June 2016
    • November 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • February 2015
    • December 2014
    • November 2014
    • October 2014
    • September 2014
    • August 2014
    • July 2014
    • June 2014
    • May 2014
    • April 2014
    • March 2014
    • February 2014
    • January 2014
    • December 2013
    • November 2013
    • October 2013
    • September 2013
    • August 2013
    • July 2013
    • May 2013
    • April 2013
    • January 2013
    • December 2012
    • October 2012
    • September 2012
    • August 2012
    • July 2012
    • June 2012
    • May 2012
    • April 2012
    • March 2012
    • February 2012
    • January 2012
    • December 2011
    • November 2011
    • October 2011
    • September 2011
    • August 2011
    • July 2011
    • June 2011
    • May 2011
    • April 2011
    • March 2011
    • February 2011
    • January 2011
    • December 2010
    • November 2010
    • October 2010
    • September 2010
    • August 2010
    • July 2010
    • June 2010
    • May 2010
    • April 2010
    • March 2010
    • February 2010
    • January 2010
    • December 2009
    • November 2009
    • October 2009
    • September 2009
    • August 2009
    • July 2009
    • June 2009
    • May 2009
    • April 2009
    • March 2009
    • February 2009
    • January 2009
    • December 2008
    • November 2008
    • October 2008
    • September 2008
    • August 2008
    • July 2008
    • June 2008
    • May 2008
    • March 2008
    • February 2008
    • September 2007
    • June 2007
    • May 2007
    • April 2007
    • March 2007
    • February 2007

Blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


Cancel
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
%d bloggers like this: