“I’m old and you’re barren.” I’m pretty sure that’s what Abraham told Sarah when they were talking about God’s promise to build a nation from their offspring. Abraham was almost 100 years old when the promise came. Sarah had yet to become pregnant with any child for their family. That is a burden in and of itself.
Katie and I were talking with Carter, our oldest, about this very same story. We had just read it in his preschool Bible and wanted to make sure he understood that Abraham is a central figure in Scripture. I watched as Katie explained that God had made a promise to Abraham that was near-impossible to believe. God promised a nation to come from an old man’s not-yet-offspring. A couple days later I was reading through the book of Romans when I came across the most helpful phrase to me. Paul is talking about Abraham and Sarah when he states, “…but he [Abraham] grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God…” (Rom 4:20).
I love this and it has become my anthem recently. Giving glory to God (he deserves it all anyway) produces strength in my faith. In other words, as time passed, Abraham continued to trust that God’s promises are true. He did not waiver. He believed in the promise.
Then Paul does something great in the passage. He reminds us of a greater promise. One that is near-impossible for many to believe. This promise is the promise of life through Jesus’ death (Rom 4:24-25). As parents, we have to start here. We have to be giving glory to God for this truth, and if we do, our faith will be strengthened. Then we will start seeing things like this happen: Our minds will start thinking about Him first. Our hearts will be able to turn from sin. Our eyes will start longing to see the pages of Scripture. Then our kids will start noticing that kind of faith. Our kids will start wanting that kind of faith. Promises will be fulfilled.
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