Spiritual Examples
Genesis contains accounts of many characters who tried to follow God. The Bible never glosses over human mistakes nor pretends the godly way is easy. It exposes the wrinkles and flaws of God's people. Of the chief characters in Genesis, Adam is the first sinner, Abraham lies to protect himself, and Jacob is a conniver. Yet God works through their frailty to teach them, and us, about himself. People like Joseph give us sterling examples of how to avoid temptations and concentrate on what really counts in life.
How God Works
God can seem unpredictable from our limited human perspective. For example, consider his promise to Abraham to create a great nation from his descendants. A very excited Abraham waits year after year until he finally concludes his wife is sterile. After 25 years of discouragement, he bypasses God's plan and fathers an illegitimate child. Abraham missed God's lesson of trust: that when He makes a promise He will fulfill it, even when all the odds are against it. Even so, through a miracle, God does finally allow Abraham's wife to give birth to the promised son.
Genesis contains accounts of many characters who tried to follow God. The Bible never glosses over human mistakes nor pretends the godly way is easy. It exposes the wrinkles and flaws of God's people. Of the chief characters in Genesis, Adam is the first sinner, Abraham lies to protect himself, and Jacob is a conniver. Yet God works through their frailty to teach them, and us, about himself. People like Joseph give us sterling examples of how to avoid temptations and concentrate on what really counts in life.
How God Works
God can seem unpredictable from our limited human perspective. For example, consider his promise to Abraham to create a great nation from his descendants. A very excited Abraham waits year after year until he finally concludes his wife is sterile. After 25 years of discouragement, he bypasses God's plan and fathers an illegitimate child. Abraham missed God's lesson of trust: that when He makes a promise He will fulfill it, even when all the odds are against it. Even so, through a miracle, God does finally allow Abraham's wife to give birth to the promised son.