OTHERS FIRST
Genesis
18:1-2: “The Lord appeared to Abraham
near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent
in the heat of the day. Abraham looked
up and saw three men standing nearby.
When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them
and bowed low to the ground.”
Ten year old Shakira woke up with ANOTHER sore throat. She swallowed hard to see if it would disappear. “Hi Mom,” she croaked weakly. “Did you sleep here
all night?”
“I didn’t want to leave until you
woke up. The operation was harder and
took longer than the doctors predicted,” mom said. “But everything is good, now. … Yet I fear
that you still have a sore throat.”
Shakira nodded her head, yes. She
didn’t want to talk, but her eyes teared up.
“Nurse Hetty, will you please prescribe
something for her sore throat?” Shakira’s mom inquired.
“The usual prescription for a sore
throat after removing one’s tonsils is ice cream,” was the answer. What flavor, Shakira?”
“Chocolate, of course!” Shakira’s
mom teased.
Shakira feels worse than Abraham
felt after his surgery. Check out the
lesson linked below to see what Abraham did the day before the opening
scripture.
Father God waited for Abraham to
wake up before appearing to him the morning after his surgery, just like
Shakira’s mom. Abraham was probably
delighted to find the Lord checking in on him then, just like Shakira was glad
to wake up to her mom.
Sitting at the entrance to his tent
was Abraham’s typical daily routine. But
this was no ordinary day. Abraham was
recovering when God made a house call.
Take
Home Nugget
Abraham’s routine was to
meet strangers he saw while sitting at the entrance to his tent. Today, he was talking with God Almighty. And when Abraham saw three men nearby, he
abruptly left God’s presence to greet them.
We’d consider his behavior rude.
We see no evidence that Abraham pardoned himself, “Hold on, I see three
men over there!”
Abraham RAN to the men.
Their presence made up for yesterday when he missed greeting people. Abraham understood that there is something
even better than talking to God—his plan was to be like God!
Since humans are created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27),
His intent is for us to be God-like.
How are we to be God-like?
Just as the Lord clothed naked Adam and Eve and visited
sick Abraham, so are we to imitate God.
Believers are to consider the needs of others first.
Father, help me to clothe the naked, visit
the sick, feed the hungry, comfort the bereaved, and console those who are
sad. Help me to be God-like You! Amen.
J.D. Griffith
The latest Christmas eBook by J.D. Griffith:
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order “Meet Guardian Archangels” click here
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