Genesis 21:1-7
And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said,
and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. 2 For Sarah
conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God
had spoken to him. 3 And Abraham called the name of his son who
was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him—Isaac.
4 Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was
eight days old, as God had commanded him.
5 Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
6 And Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with
me.”
7 She also said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse
children? For I have borne him a son in his old age.”
We’re going to let
Sarah have this moment.
Paul counseled early
Roman Christians, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those
who weep” (Romans 12:15). But some of us have a terrible habit of contaminating
moments of legitimate rejoicing with our pessimism.
“Brother, the Lord
blessed me with that promotion I’ve been praying for.”
“Praise the Lord,
man. But you know that the enemy’s gonna
try to set you up, now.”
“Hey, girl. I just got engaged!”
“Ooh, I’m so happy
for you. Make sure ya’ll get counseling
because more Christians get divorced that atheists.”
The responses above
are wise and correct, solidly grounded in Biblical principles and academic
research. But the responders miss what
the Scripture has preached since ancient Rome.
Don’t poop on good parties. Don’t
rain on righteous parades. Don’t weep
with people who were rejoicing before you got there.
So, as we visualize
Sarah in Genesis 21:1-7, we are going to let her have this moment.
Cause she’s 90, dude. For 25 years she’d listened to a promise that
was impossible when God first spoke it(Genesis 12:5), and she’d given up on her
miracle. But here it was. Post-menopausal
conception. Pregnancy carried to
term. Natural child birth. No epidural.
A baby. Her healthy baby
boy.
Some moments are so infused
with ridiculous levels of pure joy that your body doesn’t know what to do so it
just defaults to it nervous response to awkwardness: laughter.
Genesis 21:1 - 7 was
that kind of moment.
And Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and
all who hear will laugh with me.” (Genesis 21:6)
Let her have that.
I know you’ve read
ahead. You know the drama and pettiness
coming next. We’ll get there. But right now Sarah is rejoicing. Rejoice with her.
Practice with Sarah
what you’ll do next time a friend shares their testimony of a blessing. Rehearse not pointing out how the whole thing
could go sideways. With Sarah as your
case study, model rejoicing with those who rejoice.
Don’t endorse
foolishness. Don’t be silent to
so-called blessings that are actually opportunities to sin dressed up in church
jargon. But when the blessing is a
blessing, hold on before you share your gift of prophetic pessimism.
Let them have that
moment. Rejoice with them.
---Anderson T. Graves II is a writer, community organizer and
consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.
Rev. Anderson T.
Graves II is pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in
Fairfield, Alabama; executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth
Networking Organization (SAYNO); and director of rural leadership
development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).
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