"And it came about after the death of Abraham, that God blessed Issac."
Dr. Dennis Kinlaw likes to point out that all of us are the result of someone else, and that what is true physically is also true spiritually. None of us is here as a result of our own doing. Like a parent with their child, someone else had to put a lot of attention into our coming to know the Lord. One of the most impressive things in the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and on, even with its imperfections along the way, was the sure transmission of the knowledge of God from one generation to another. The beauty in this transmission of truth, from one generation to the next is, as we are faithful to do our part, God is all over it. As we give ourselves to the salvation of our children, family and friends, we can have the assurance that He will pour Himself into this process, connecting what we have done with who He is. This is what you see with Abraham and Isaac. There's an interesting verse in Genesis 25:5 that simply states, "Now Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac". There's the key spiritually. Abraham had given his all to someone else. He had so lived that when he died God didn't die with him, but God had been planted in someone else, and Genesis 25:11 simply records the natural result of this beautiful process: "And it came about after the death of Abraham, that God blessed Issac." Salvation comes to others when we become more interested in others than ourselves. The Apostle Paul nailed down the tremendous significance of this truth when he wrote to the church at Philippi, "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do notmerely ("merely" is not in the original) look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others" (2:3-4). Wow! This lies at the very heart of missions: OTHERS! Can you say this? Someone else's life depends on it.
Dr. Dennis Kinlaw likes to point out that all of us are the result of someone else, and that what is true physically is also true spiritually. None of us is here as a result of our own doing. Like a parent with their child, someone else had to put a lot of attention into our coming to know the Lord. One of the most impressive things in the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and on, even with its imperfections along the way, was the sure transmission of the knowledge of God from one generation to another. The beauty in this transmission of truth, from one generation to the next is, as we are faithful to do our part, God is all over it. As we give ourselves to the salvation of our children, family and friends, we can have the assurance that He will pour Himself into this process, connecting what we have done with who He is. This is what you see with Abraham and Isaac. There's an interesting verse in Genesis 25:5 that simply states, "Now Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac". There's the key spiritually. Abraham had given his all to someone else. He had so lived that when he died God didn't die with him, but God had been planted in someone else, and Genesis 25:11 simply records the natural result of this beautiful process: "And it came about after the death of Abraham, that God blessed Issac." Salvation comes to others when we become more interested in others than ourselves. The Apostle Paul nailed down the tremendous significance of this truth when he wrote to the church at Philippi, "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not
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