Abraham’s Death
Descendants of Ishmael
Isaac’s Sons, Esau & Jacob
Esau Sells His Birthright
Genesis 26
God’s Promise to Isaac
Isaac and Abimelech - the wife, the wells, the covenant
God’s Promise to Isaac
Isaac and Abimelech - the wife, the wells, the covenant
Isaac's comment to Abimelech reminded me of the sobering fact that we fathers have to set the example, which sucks sometimes, honestly, for the sons (and daughters). I guess I had always thought that by this time (youngest 5 oldest 27) I would have had it figured out and the kids would hang around with notebooks and pens writing down my many merits. LOL. Isaac got the 'she is my sister' from old dad the same way I see my flaws in my kids. I don't do new years' resolutions, but one thing I have failed at is having a day of rest. With a broken house and sometimes unruly kids and a struggling marriage I am a slave to my ever-updated things to do list. I revise it daily, but never seem to get ahead. Praise God that yesterday, even if it is only a single time, the kids saw me without my phone, without my list, pen (to add to the list), and sharpie (to cross them off), but instead reading scripture, talking with them, etc. We even managed to go for a walk (though I had a million things to do, like literally) and play my daughter's cat-opoly for several hours before bed. It was a good day. I pray I can keep it up and be a good example - mary over martha. Blessings.
ReplyDeleteAaron
That sounds like a well spent day, brother. We'll never get to the end of our lists, will we? It's a very rare home where everything works, all the things are in their place, and there's no crisis calling for a response. And yet...good metaphor, good reference - you chose the better part. Not just for yourself (setting the example for your kids in seeking the Lord), but also investing in those relationships that the Lord has invested in us. People often say that children are a treasure or a gift, but it's a challenge to treat them like that in the day-to-day, isn't it? Thanks for the encouraging reminder to follow our Heavenly Father's example
Delete- jeffrey
It's such a relentless counter-cultural struggle. The unrelenting standards of society, the tyrannny of the urgent...all dragging us away from being present in our relationships...dragging us towards a religious mindset of works before grace.
ReplyDeleteThere is good we can do in our lives through the grace of God, you took time to do good in that moment and that's awesome.
I like reading about all these guys in the Bible because they're seriously just guys.... nothing special about them or their works... but from what I can tell what put them in the story is that they listened to God. I can tell you I rarely am still enough to do that.