Thursday, February 5, 2015

The God of My Fathers



It was around 1446 BC when an 80 year old Hebrew shepherd met his God in the Sinai desert...

Exodus 3:1-6

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”
When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”
“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father,[a] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

Moses had a strange life. For 40 years, he lived in the Egyptian king's palace as the adopted Hebrew son of the King's daughter, but one day he decided to get in touch with his roots and he discovered the misery of his own people. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave and it so infuriated him, that he killed the Egyptian. Even though he had buried the Egyptian in the desert sand, Moses' actions became known and so he fled to the desert. He was taken in by a nomadic shepherd people and he eventually married a daughter of the tribal head - Jethro. He worked as a shepherd until that fateful 
day when Yahweh approached him on the mountainside through an angel inside a bush that burned, but was not consumed.  

The Lord God introduced Himself to Moses and the rest of it is ancient history. I love the story. I am sure that Moses was familiar with the history of his people. He knew the stories passed down from generation to generation; but I am also sure he never imagined that the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would approach him personally, let alone send him on a mission that would last for the remainder of his life. I am awestruck every time I read it. I am only 57, but I do not think I would want to lead 4 million people. Moses did that from the age of 80 to 120.

What strikes me as relevant in this particular passage though is how God introduces Himself. He says, "I Am the God of your father(s)..."

Many times the faith of Christians is as much a hereditary thing as it is experiential. Many of us go through our journey with Christ without ever really meeting Him. We believe because we grew up believing. It was expected. We became Christians because it was expected. We learned about the Bible because it was expected. Then when we reached a certain age, we lost sight of our faith. 

I think this happens because those of us that grew up in the Church, never really experienced the saving power of Christ in the same way that others who come to Him later experience Him.

For me, I had to wander in my own desert for a very long time before I finally heard His voice for true and He called me home to dwell in the land He promised to my fathers - Will and Lloyd and Charlie and Dennis. That land is called Iowa if you are wondering. But...

My point here is, that as dry as it was, the faith of my youth that was passed to me by my fathers, is what I have based my own faith on and it has grown like a holy mountain before me where the living God dwells with me and teaches me daily how to walk in His ways. It has been a difficult and trying journey, but He is helping me to find my way on His path.

Lord, you are the God of my fathers. Your name has been passed down to me from generation to generation and even when I was far away from you, you beckoned me to your Holy Kingdom.

I thank you and praise your name for the grace you have given me. Thank you for bringing me back to your pasture to graze again with the Saints.

I love You Lord. In Jesus' Name,

Amen