Reference Passage:
Genesis 15:5-6 (NIV)
He took Abram outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then He said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Genesis 15:5-6 (NIV)
Abram believed the LORD, and He credited it to him as righteousness.
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The name is Abram, and not Abraham – your eyes weren't playing tricks on you. Abram became Abraham much later, which symbolically testifies that life is a progressive process of God-induced change. Its difficult to understand this Biblical legend without some background investigation. It must be kept in mind that three of the world's most significant religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – draw different views of his life, and are also nicknamed Abrahamic faiths.
Abram first heard God's call while part of a family with no reputed spiritual heritage. For all those who believe that circumstance defines character, Abram doesn't fit the theory at all. How starkly in contrast Abram stands, as compared to us who can't discern God's voice even while surrounded by religiosity on all sides! The Bible leaves out the specific details of how Abram first picked up the Heavenly signals, or recognized them for their true worth, but that's part of the mystery of true spirituality. I wonder how many readers would linger on this blog if Abram's precise technique was known. We'd all be busy trying to ape and market Abram's recipe for instant faith, just as we're already attempting in other spheres of our professional lives. Its heartening to know that the Almighty draws us to Himself in so many different and unpredictable ways, and the only common thread for our success is the undying trust we place on Him, come what may.
At that time, Abram had just emerged from a thumping victory in battle against other powerful kings in the area. All the same, God knew that Abram was uneasy within. Abram had left much behind to follow the Voice he heard years ago, but it felt like he was still on square one. The original Divine promise had been centered on the fruitfulness of Abram's family life, and to date, there was no sign of this.
As Abram expressed his anxiety concerning the heir to his estate, God reaffirmed His promise and pointed Abram to the twinkles dotting the night sky. To win over the troubled warrior, God suggested a game of childish innocence and simplicity – counting the stars! Feeling nostalgic already? We fancied that we'd seen it all and that our elementary school mathematics teacher had equipped us well for the venture. And so we began. Yet, in the end, we all gave up the game for the sheer limitlessness of the number. "So shall your descendants be", God vowed.
The celestial lights were not new to Abram, yet this moment of revelation transformed his view deeply. In effect, God was telling the saint that he'd still not seen all that God could do.
Nature surrounds us in all its created splendor. Man is unique in his capability to appreciate the beauty of the universe. Nobody has created science, we're merely observing that which already exists. Interestingly, human science is generally limited to the five senses. Even the greatest scientist can only retrieve information through these, and cannot say whether other higher senses exist or not. This is equivalent to saying that a tape recorder that "hears" and "speaks" can know nothing about smell – being limited to the two senses by design. We do well if we employ our God-given talents to explore and study our surroundings.
However, nature's ultimate objective is not simply this. It holds in its heart priceless nuggets that point us to the mind of our Creator. Nevertheless, as was Abram's case, and ours, this "higher" information is not readily edible for our five senses. It takes a Divine act of revelation to digest such greater sense. Abram saw the sufficiency of his sovereign God in the midst of his depressing problem, and gathered courage to continue the journey. This responsive faith scored high in God's marking scheme for righteousness.
In the absence of revelation, humans stumble upon the same childish assumption of knowing everything on their own. Which turned out to be Mr. Bright's fatal error.
Mr. Bright decided to take up the challenge and count the stars. He felt that the naked eye was not sufficient, and so began to develop complicated instruments to sharpen his gaze into the heavens. Next, was an ambitious project of discovering, naming and classifying new stars. The burgeoning greatness of his knowledge somehow convinced him that God and spirituality were alien to science, and therefore Mr. Bright brilliantly suggested that a drive to cleanse academic circles of this 'alien' culture was necessary. While Abram was busy learning faith and moving towards the Heavenly places, Mr. Bright was lecturing to packed auditoriums about the greatness of man and the delusion of religion. His report card in Heaven had a lot of zeroes, but how would he know that?
Mr. Bright lived a good life, by the way. Comfort in the bank and a loving family at home – what more could he ask for? Yet, it irked him to think that all of his knowledge could not formulate a comfortable solution to the universal problem of death, or even predict a glimpse of the reality on the other side of that yawning doorway. He guessed that only dust and bones would remain.
The day of death arrived – and in moments, Mr. Bright's eyes opened to discover the literal meaning of a 'grave mistake'.
Abram first heard God's call while part of a family with no reputed spiritual heritage. For all those who believe that circumstance defines character, Abram doesn't fit the theory at all. How starkly in contrast Abram stands, as compared to us who can't discern God's voice even while surrounded by religiosity on all sides! The Bible leaves out the specific details of how Abram first picked up the Heavenly signals, or recognized them for their true worth, but that's part of the mystery of true spirituality. I wonder how many readers would linger on this blog if Abram's precise technique was known. We'd all be busy trying to ape and market Abram's recipe for instant faith, just as we're already attempting in other spheres of our professional lives. Its heartening to know that the Almighty draws us to Himself in so many different and unpredictable ways, and the only common thread for our success is the undying trust we place on Him, come what may.
At that time, Abram had just emerged from a thumping victory in battle against other powerful kings in the area. All the same, God knew that Abram was uneasy within. Abram had left much behind to follow the Voice he heard years ago, but it felt like he was still on square one. The original Divine promise had been centered on the fruitfulness of Abram's family life, and to date, there was no sign of this.
As Abram expressed his anxiety concerning the heir to his estate, God reaffirmed His promise and pointed Abram to the twinkles dotting the night sky. To win over the troubled warrior, God suggested a game of childish innocence and simplicity – counting the stars! Feeling nostalgic already? We fancied that we'd seen it all and that our elementary school mathematics teacher had equipped us well for the venture. And so we began. Yet, in the end, we all gave up the game for the sheer limitlessness of the number. "So shall your descendants be", God vowed.
The celestial lights were not new to Abram, yet this moment of revelation transformed his view deeply. In effect, God was telling the saint that he'd still not seen all that God could do.
Nature surrounds us in all its created splendor. Man is unique in his capability to appreciate the beauty of the universe. Nobody has created science, we're merely observing that which already exists. Interestingly, human science is generally limited to the five senses. Even the greatest scientist can only retrieve information through these, and cannot say whether other higher senses exist or not. This is equivalent to saying that a tape recorder that "hears" and "speaks" can know nothing about smell – being limited to the two senses by design. We do well if we employ our God-given talents to explore and study our surroundings.
However, nature's ultimate objective is not simply this. It holds in its heart priceless nuggets that point us to the mind of our Creator. Nevertheless, as was Abram's case, and ours, this "higher" information is not readily edible for our five senses. It takes a Divine act of revelation to digest such greater sense. Abram saw the sufficiency of his sovereign God in the midst of his depressing problem, and gathered courage to continue the journey. This responsive faith scored high in God's marking scheme for righteousness.
In the absence of revelation, humans stumble upon the same childish assumption of knowing everything on their own. Which turned out to be Mr. Bright's fatal error.
Mr. Bright decided to take up the challenge and count the stars. He felt that the naked eye was not sufficient, and so began to develop complicated instruments to sharpen his gaze into the heavens. Next, was an ambitious project of discovering, naming and classifying new stars. The burgeoning greatness of his knowledge somehow convinced him that God and spirituality were alien to science, and therefore Mr. Bright brilliantly suggested that a drive to cleanse academic circles of this 'alien' culture was necessary. While Abram was busy learning faith and moving towards the Heavenly places, Mr. Bright was lecturing to packed auditoriums about the greatness of man and the delusion of religion. His report card in Heaven had a lot of zeroes, but how would he know that?
Mr. Bright lived a good life, by the way. Comfort in the bank and a loving family at home – what more could he ask for? Yet, it irked him to think that all of his knowledge could not formulate a comfortable solution to the universal problem of death, or even predict a glimpse of the reality on the other side of that yawning doorway. He guessed that only dust and bones would remain.
The day of death arrived – and in moments, Mr. Bright's eyes opened to discover the literal meaning of a 'grave mistake'.
