Re-inventing yourself at ninety nine
Well no, Abram didn’t re-invent himself. God did, he gave Abram a new name, and turned Abram’s household into a nation.
How about us today? Can we be re-invented in our old age? God took something that Abraham had been doing for years and changed it into something greater. Like this: Abraham had been leading his household in worship ever since he built his first alter in Canaan. In Abraham’s old age God turned that household into a nation. They were not all blood relatives of Abraham but they all accepted the sign of the agreement between God and them. Like Abraham they were gentiles but by entering into the covenant agreement with God, and accepting the sign of that covenant, they became part of the covenant nation.
To apply this to us today I ask, is there something you’ve been doing for years that God could use in a slightly different way? Of course there is, we hear continually of people who when they retire, take the skills and talents they have acquired and use them in a slightly different way, often they are pleased, fulfilled and gratified with what they are able to accomplish after they’ve retired.
Changing your name is part of re-inventing yourself also. Abraham’s new name meant ‘Father of a multitude, he received it when he was the father of only one child.’ If he’d given himself that name, we’d say that he was exercising great faith. However it wasn’t Abraham but God who chose that name, God was demonstrating his own confidence in his own word.
Most of us gained a new name when we began to be called Granddad and Grandma. David and I refused those names, they made us feel old. It is only now when I’ve had the name for over a quarter of a century that I begin to see possibilities. I didn’t see them by myself either; it was my grown children who helped me to see that being a grandparent could be a calling. I still have so far to go and so much to learn about my new name.
God gave Sarai a new name too, looking it up in Strong’s Hebrew dictionary I had the good fortune to notice ‘Sar’ before I turned to ‘Sarah’; as many of you know, ‘ah’ is the suffix which indicates a female noun. Sarah is the feminine of Sar and Sar is shown by James Strong as meaning a head person, captain, general, governor, keeper, lord, master or prince. The popular explanation of Sarah’s name is princess, but her name can also mean, woman-captain, woman-general, woman-governor. I prefer these meanings because it shows God’s estimation of Sarah was not that of a princess, who is often powerless over her own life, but that of someone who could lead and make decisions.
In between instructing Abraham about these two great make-overs God reminds him that he is going to have a son by Sarah The Elderly, only God doesn’t call her that. Abraham, the newly named Father of a Multitude laughs: “It’s already too late,” he reminds God, “she’s long passed the age at which women can become pregnant.” Resignation and hopelessness produce hollow laughter. God goes on to tell him that great things will happen to Ishmael also, and Abraham apparently forgets to tell Sarah about the promised child.
Cora, a member of the first church I was pastor of, questioned one of my sermons. You say that we all have gifts and talents, she said, I have none, I’ve been a widow for years so I’m not a home maker, my only child lives far away so I’m not a parent, and the only skill I learnt when I was working was a skill that is redundant now. That was Cora’s opinion of herself. I visited her when she was in hospital and prayed for her, after I had finished Cora took my hand in both of hers and began to pray out loud, she thanked God for my helpful sermons, for my love for the congregation, for my hard work and imagination with the children. Now tell me she had no gifts! In that first church no one loved me very much, I was a woman minister in the days when people thought the Bible said women should keep silent (the other women were not very silent on that topic) I had followed a dearly loved man who had been there 25 years and I was not doing anything as well as he had done. “Cora, your prayers are your gift,” I said, “furthermore your appreciation of me has strengthened me.” Perhaps Cora’s gift was more valuable than all the other gifts in that church, to me they certainly were. Her continued appreciation and encouragement remained with me through the years. She stood at the head of the church steps and wept the day I left, and the memory of those tears reassured me in the following days when I thought I had failed at the work of being a pastor. Genuine appreciation, encouragement and thoughtful prayers; I do believe they are the greatest gifts anyone can give and although we have less energy and our memories become a little slow, these gifts are still available for us to practice and distribute to those around us.
Genesis chapter 17
STRONG’S HEBREW AND GREEK DICTIONARIES
By James Strong Published by Hodder and Stoughton Limited, London EC4
How about us today? Can we be re-invented in our old age? God took something that Abraham had been doing for years and changed it into something greater. Like this: Abraham had been leading his household in worship ever since he built his first alter in Canaan. In Abraham’s old age God turned that household into a nation. They were not all blood relatives of Abraham but they all accepted the sign of the agreement between God and them. Like Abraham they were gentiles but by entering into the covenant agreement with God, and accepting the sign of that covenant, they became part of the covenant nation.
To apply this to us today I ask, is there something you’ve been doing for years that God could use in a slightly different way? Of course there is, we hear continually of people who when they retire, take the skills and talents they have acquired and use them in a slightly different way, often they are pleased, fulfilled and gratified with what they are able to accomplish after they’ve retired.
Changing your name is part of re-inventing yourself also. Abraham’s new name meant ‘Father of a multitude, he received it when he was the father of only one child.’ If he’d given himself that name, we’d say that he was exercising great faith. However it wasn’t Abraham but God who chose that name, God was demonstrating his own confidence in his own word.
Most of us gained a new name when we began to be called Granddad and Grandma. David and I refused those names, they made us feel old. It is only now when I’ve had the name for over a quarter of a century that I begin to see possibilities. I didn’t see them by myself either; it was my grown children who helped me to see that being a grandparent could be a calling. I still have so far to go and so much to learn about my new name.
God gave Sarai a new name too, looking it up in Strong’s Hebrew dictionary I had the good fortune to notice ‘Sar’ before I turned to ‘Sarah’; as many of you know, ‘ah’ is the suffix which indicates a female noun. Sarah is the feminine of Sar and Sar is shown by James Strong as meaning a head person, captain, general, governor, keeper, lord, master or prince. The popular explanation of Sarah’s name is princess, but her name can also mean, woman-captain, woman-general, woman-governor. I prefer these meanings because it shows God’s estimation of Sarah was not that of a princess, who is often powerless over her own life, but that of someone who could lead and make decisions.
In between instructing Abraham about these two great make-overs God reminds him that he is going to have a son by Sarah The Elderly, only God doesn’t call her that. Abraham, the newly named Father of a Multitude laughs: “It’s already too late,” he reminds God, “she’s long passed the age at which women can become pregnant.” Resignation and hopelessness produce hollow laughter. God goes on to tell him that great things will happen to Ishmael also, and Abraham apparently forgets to tell Sarah about the promised child.
Cora, a member of the first church I was pastor of, questioned one of my sermons. You say that we all have gifts and talents, she said, I have none, I’ve been a widow for years so I’m not a home maker, my only child lives far away so I’m not a parent, and the only skill I learnt when I was working was a skill that is redundant now. That was Cora’s opinion of herself. I visited her when she was in hospital and prayed for her, after I had finished Cora took my hand in both of hers and began to pray out loud, she thanked God for my helpful sermons, for my love for the congregation, for my hard work and imagination with the children. Now tell me she had no gifts! In that first church no one loved me very much, I was a woman minister in the days when people thought the Bible said women should keep silent (the other women were not very silent on that topic) I had followed a dearly loved man who had been there 25 years and I was not doing anything as well as he had done. “Cora, your prayers are your gift,” I said, “furthermore your appreciation of me has strengthened me.” Perhaps Cora’s gift was more valuable than all the other gifts in that church, to me they certainly were. Her continued appreciation and encouragement remained with me through the years. She stood at the head of the church steps and wept the day I left, and the memory of those tears reassured me in the following days when I thought I had failed at the work of being a pastor. Genuine appreciation, encouragement and thoughtful prayers; I do believe they are the greatest gifts anyone can give and although we have less energy and our memories become a little slow, these gifts are still available for us to practice and distribute to those around us.
Genesis chapter 17
STRONG’S HEBREW AND GREEK DICTIONARIES
By James Strong Published by Hodder and Stoughton Limited, London EC4
posted by Jessie Coates at 11:11 PM
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