 -Pastor Melissa Fain- 5 He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” 6 And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness. Genesis 5:5-6 NRSV Did you know when we look at our family history it’s called ancestry? Ancestors are the family members that were around before us. This is our grandmothers and grandfathers, our great aunts and uncles; our family that goes back generations. Through our family tree we can see where we’ve come from. With our family now, we can see where we’re going. Abraham was the beginning of God’s family story. There’s a song children used to sing in church: “Father Abraham had many sons, and many sons had Father Abraham. I am one of them, and so are you, so let’s all praise the Lord!” It’s difficult to be at the beginning of stories. Abraham had nothing to look back on, only wonder if he’d have something to look forward to. It might be one of the reasons we are so uncomfortable starting something new. God helps Abraham understand by showing him the stars. What a great image! We can’t touch stars; they are too far away. For the same reason we can’t feel their heat. What we can know is they are there, hundreds of light years away. We have the gift of being able to look back and remember. We can recall past Christmas’ and family memories. For us, those memories are like Abrahams’ stars. We can no longer touch or feel them, but we can see them in my mind. As he looked forward, we look back. Question: What is a good memory you have of a former Christmas? Prayer: Dear God, thank you for the loving and good family members in our lives. Amen. Places to connect:
To see or share pictures of the Advent Adventure Crafts: Twitter: @FigTreeTweet, #AdventAdventure For deeper discussion: Reddit: www.Reddit.com/r/FigTreeChristian |
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