"Sarah: God Fulfills My Emptiness"

Gen.18:6-15;21:1-7 July 7/02

Society's Superficiality

Let's face it: we live in a superficial age. The emphasis is on image, our outward appearance - "How'm I looking?" Not only people in the entertainment industry, but politicians and business-people go to great lengths to present themselves in the best possible light. Sometimes even if that requires glossing over the truth.

             The editorial in the Citizen this past week about shallowness and the perils of greed could have been preached from a pulpit. Mr Roulston rightly pointed out the error of giant US company "WorldCom" which, he says, "admits it fiddled with its financial statements to make a multi-billion dollar loss into a profit of similar proportions...Greed has led company executives to inflate the value of their stocks because they have stock options and can make a lot more than their already-substantial salaries if company stocks go up." Contrary to the popular market theory that "Greed is good", much damage occurs when inflating appearances goes unchecked. The editorial summarizes, "The result is that thousands of employees lose their jobs.Shareholders lose billions of their investments.The entire economy of the US has been suffering in the wake of the Enron collapse and may be hurt again by the WorldCom debacle." WorldCom wanted to make itself "look good" so tinkered with the truth about its finances.

             We want to look good, whether it be our clothes, our car, or our company. We're used to people making quick judgments based on a first glance. We're constantly tempted to evaluate people superficially - estimating a person's worth by their apparent income or their looks. Diets abound, eating disorders are rampant, people panic at the first sight of a gray hair. We're so superficial! It's reported that Americans spend more than 7 billion dollars a year on cosmetics alone. Media-watchers become entranced into worshipping the young and the beautiful...even though those few who supposedly "have it" by the world's definition are secretly anxious because we all know some day time will take its toll on our exterior.

             We fall easily into the trap of devaluing people based on appearance. The story is told of an unfortunate woman who, early one morning, made a mad dash out of the house when she heard the garbage truck pulling away. She was still in her bathrobe. Her hair was wrapped in big curlers. Her face was covered with sticky cream. She was wearing a chin-strap and a beat-up old pair of slippers. In short, she looked awful. When she reached the sidewalk, she called out, "Am I too late for the garbage?" The reply came back, "No, hop right in."

             The good news is, when God gets a hold of you, you'll never be garbage again. In a culture that's content to amuse itself by skimming along the surface, the emphasis on appearance creates a crisis of self-worth. We're only too conscious of our blemishes, our imperfections, be they in appearance or unseen failings of character. By contrast with the media idols who "have it all", we're conscious of our lack. If we spend long enough in front of the mirror we can do some cover-up, but inside we're still empty, longing for fulfillment that's not based on looks or will vanish with increasing years.

             Today, as we recall the experience of Abraham's wife Sarah, God extends to us a word of encouragement. He offers substance instead of superficiality. "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" (Gen.18:14) God can take our emptiness, our barrenness, and provide fullness and completeness instead, through faith in Him.

The Golden Years...in a U-Haul?

The first lesson Sarah can teach us is to have faith to follow God's will, even when it's somebody else that has the vision. The end of Genesis 11 and beginning of chapter 12 describe Abraham's call to leave Ur and Haran and go to the land of Canaan. Abram, as he was known then, was 75 years old; Sarah (at first called Sarai) was 65 years old. 65 - think about it! That's when most people are wanting to be settling down for retirement, not pulling up stakes to start a nomadic life in a strange land! (unless perhaps you're a genuine "gray gypsy") Think how hard it must have been for Sarai to pull up stakes from the place she was familiar with, and follow this vision Abram supposedly had received from God. "Are you sure it was God telling you this, dear? Hadn't we better check this with our estate planner first - mightn't it have been Bermuda instead of the backside of the desert?" Give the lady credit for not balking at such a drastic change. She had faith, trusting her husband, trusting God who made the promises.

             God rewards faith...repeatedly Jesus said, "Your faith has saved you." A central part of faith is that it deals with intangibles, the unseen, what's not apparent to our ordinary senses of sound, sight, etc. In John 20, Jesus appeared to his disciples, particularly for the benefit of Thomas, who'd missed seeing Him the first time after the resurrection. Thomas had been insisting all week that he couldn't accept the word of the other disciples, he had to touch Jesus' wounds with his own hands before he'd believe. Jesus satisfies Thomas' curiosity then says, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:29) Sarai didn't have the advantage of the personal revelation Abram had received, yet she trusted God and her husband enough to venture forth from Haran to the wilderness of Canaan without complaining.

             Sarai's life also demonstrates the danger of not living by faith -- of growing impatient when we don't see the promised results, and taking matters into our own hands. Ten years after the big move, with no baby on the horizon, Sarai takes advantage of the ancient custom of the day and arranges for Abraham to father a child through Hagar, her Egyptian slave girl. Sarai's telling herself, "Perhaps I can build a family through her." Her faith stumbles while waiting for the miracle of a baby from her own aged womb. But in the long run, only grief comes of Hagar's pregnancy and son Ishmael: the servant begins treating her mistress with contempt, to the point that Sarai sends her away. So it often is when we give up waiting on God and try to arrange things our own way: the long-term outcome is more agony. God's solutions are always smarter. So faith learns to wait God's timing, and be patient. There's less heartache all around.

Pawned-off Princess

Another principle illustrated by Sarah's life is that God will stand up for you even when others let you down. One of the evidences of Scripture's truthfulness is the fact that it reports the weaknesses and goofs of its heroes as well as their strengths. At least twice in his life, Abraham let his wife down. He pretended she was only his sister instead of his wife, so that the powerful leaders he visited wouldn't kill him to take his wife because she was so beautiful. (She actually was his half-sister: they had the same father but different mothers.So he wasn't exactly lying by saying she was his sister, but he wasn't being completely truthful either.) First Pharaoh in Egypt (Gen.12), then another king named Abimelech (Gen.20), took Sarai into their harems, thinking she was unmarried and thus fair game. Abram comes off as a real cad here, abandoning his wife to another man's household! But each time, though her Sarai's husband won't stand up for her, God intervenes. He causes diseases to come on the households, and alerts both rulers to their guilt in taking in another man's wife - before any real harm is done. Though Abram was pawning her off in exchange for security, God treats Sarai as a noble princess by preserving her virtue and protecting their marriage.

             There will be times when our closest family members or friends or business associates let us down. When nobody seems to understand or be on your side, remember: God cares. Psalm 27(10) says, "Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me." Jesus warned, "Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved." (Matthew 10:21-22) God will help us, even when our closest loved ones let us down. Sometimes He may lead us to confront them or avoid them, sometimes not. There's no excuse for abuse, but lesser sins may be better handled by letting the Spirit's consequences become apparent. The other person's treatment of us may be shameful, but we're precious to the Lord; he will support us when others fail us.

Blessing instead of Barrenness

We're taught from an early age to make the most of what we have and not draw attention to what we don't have. Report cards show at a glance a student's aptitudes and the areas she or he is not strong in. We may be great in athletics and low in academics, or the other way around. Unless we're an exceptionally gifted person, there will always be some areas in our life we'd rather not go into - the places of barrenness, where we're not endowed or even comfortable making an effort. Yet where we're barren, God can still bring fulfillment to the empty areas of our lives.

             Back in the days of Abram and Sarai, children were especially important. They were your old age insurance as well as your legacy. Without children, who would take care of you when you were old? There was no Canada Pension Plan or Old Age Security. To whom would you pass on your accumulated wealth, your name, your land rights? It all hinged on having descendants. Thus an especially important role for the wife was giving birth to children.

             Repeatedly, in Gen.11(30), 16(1), and 18(11), we are told Sarai was barren. OK, so we get the picture: painful enough to have it mentioned once. In her case, sterility is not surprising, given that Abram had broken today's laws of consanguinity by marrying his own father's daughter, offspring of his stepmother. Inbreeding does that. Yet for many couples today, barrenness is a very real problem, even though it's not caused by close intermarriage within families. It's a constant ache, a dull pain, a gnawing emptiness in the soul. You can keep on trying, but coupled with the faint glimmer of hope is a growing frustration, a sense of futility and incompleteness.

             But when we become God's sons or daughters by receiving Jesus' life into ours, we're not left there at a dead end. God works around the barren areas of my life to bring fulfillment. In Genesis 17(15-16,19), God promises Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah ['princess'].I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her.I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her...your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac..." The miracle points out that God's new people are not born just by natural means, but supernatural, through faith. Where once there was barrenness, the Lord will bring blessing instead.

            Jesus emphasized over and over that His whole purpose was to offer meaning, purpose, and satisfying fulfillment in people's lives. In John 4(14) He spoke of "living water" that would keep a woman worn out from serial relationships from ever being thirsty again. In John 6(35) He describes Himself as "Bread of Life" that will keep us from ever being hungry again in our soul. In Jn.10(9,10) He is the gate through which the sheep enter and find pasture; he adds, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full [abundantly]." The way to experience the truth of this is to try it out: taste and see, the Lord IS good. Christ's Spirit living in us produces a joy, a peace, and purposeful living that no one can take away or destroy. Whether we have children or not, we have a future with God in eternity.

            As far as the immediate fertility roadblock, some couples are led to adopt, sometimes finding the woman can become pregnant after adopting! Other people, singles and couples alike, have no children but find other ways of pouring themselves into another generation. My "boss" in Congo was a committed Christian, a Dutch nurse who led a very full life working with the Salvation Army in a developing country. She oversaw the medical clinics and distributed goods to needy families under an international children's program like Compassion or World Vision. Her husband, an Englishman, was national treasurer for the church. Even now, in their retirement, they still lead a busy and productive life, in touch with former colleagues and translating in international conferences. Make yourself available to Jesus, and He will take away your feeling of barrenness. He's in the blessing business!

Beauty Beyond Skin-deep

Faith to follow when the way is uncertain; standing up for us when others let us down; fulfillment for my areas of emptiness...The fourth lesson God illustrates through Sarah's life is that we're not stuck trying to present a pretty exterior in a superficial society. Jesus offers a beauty, a radiant energy that attracts but is deeper than just our skin.

             There's no question Sarah was physically attractive; like a Sophia Loren or Katherine Hepburn, she caught the male eye even in her 60s to 80s (maybe it's easier when you live to be 127 as she did?). Somehow she managed to stay well-preserved, a so-called "knock-out" or "hot" (and that's not referring to the weather). Genesis 12(14) says the Egyptians saw that "she was a very beautiful woman" and "praised her to Pharaoh". However the circumstances also show that outward beauty can be a liability; the entanglements with Pharaoh and Abimelech are blots on Abraham's reputation, without saying what damage they did to the couple's relationship. Outer beauty can distract from or camouflage inner disorders and ugliness of one's personality, breeding pride, conceit, and selfishness. Just look at the lives of some of the folks on the magazine covers.

             To the question, "Should Christians wear make-up?" one woman answered, "Even an old barn looks better with a fresh coat of paint." God's not brought more glory by His people looking slovenly or unkempt; we are stewards of all He's given us, including our appearance. Yet Scripture reminds us that the real beauty of Sarah was not so much her physical looks as her inner character qualities. In a New Testament passage relating to Sarah, Peter urges wives to win over unbelieving husbands by the purity, reverence, and submissiveness of their lives. He says, "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful.They were submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master.You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear." (1 Peter 3:3-6) How can you become a daughter (spiritually speaking) of this special lady who'd described as "very beautiful"? Not by "Oil of Olay", but "Oil of Obey" - seek the Holy Spirit's anointing to make you more obedient to God, trust Him the most, do what's right. That frees us from fear of anyone else, or what other people might think, their opinion based on superficials. Revering God has the effect of making us more humble, able to be submissive to one another, a servant like Christ opted to be, not having to get our own way.

             Partway through the Reformation, former priest Martin Luther married a former nun named Kathryn. On one occasion after they were married, Luther had been brooding for several days. Groups of peasants were in revolt, and the pope was putting increased pressure on the nobles to renounce their stand for Luther. He felt he'd undertaken a hopeless task.

             On the morning he was most deeply melancholic, he came into the dining room for breakfast. His wife greeted him wearing a black dress which was as funereal in appearance as the costume she had worn as a nun. Martin glanced at her quizzically. She usually greeted him with a cheery "Guten morgen Herr Dokter", but this morning she said not a word.

             "What is wrong, Katie?" Martin inquired. She announced sadly, "God is dead."

             "Woman, that is a terrible heresy. God is not dead, nor doth He sleep. Never say that The Eternal has died. When heaven and earth shall pass away God will remain," he affirmed.

             "Then why do you waken each morning with such a doleful expression on your face? Why go through the day sighing like the north wind? In your university classes you claim to interpret the mind of God.You have appeared to know Him well, and I became certain, from the expression on your face, that God must surely have expired."

             She made this statement without a change of expression. Suddenly Martin burst out laughing. "You have convinced me, Katie, dear," he said. "So, if ever you see me again with a melancholy countenance, remind me that God is living, that He will live forevermore.I promise you that I shall try not to appear as dour as a shriveled turnip."

Faith's Blessing affects Facial Beauty

What truly attracts people in a spiritual sense is not outward conformity to shapes or colours dictated by the fashion world, but God's own glory and beauty shining out through our lives. Consider the wordless but very real message communicated by your face. The King James translators in Psalm 43:5 describe God as being "the health of my countenance", literally my "face-healer" (Berkley). Peterson paraphrases it, "He puts a smile on my face.He's my God." Yet I'm one of those who'd have to admit that though Christ puts joy in my heart in knowing Him, my face often doesn't seem to have heard about it!

             English Congregational preacher Joseph Parker said, "You can tell whether a man has been keeping up his life of prayer. His witness is in his face. There is an invisible sculptor that chisels the face into the upper attitude of the soul."

             Adoniram Johnson was a missionary to Burma. Jesus was so radiant in Mr.Judson's outlook that people called him "Mr.Glory-face".

             When people practically glow because of their love-relationship with the Lord, it's a powerful non-verbal witness. Looking out over the congregation one Sunday, Alexander Maclaren was shocked to see a well-known skeptic in the audience. As they chatted after the service, the preacher persuaded the man to attend church for four more Sundays, the sermons being on the main doctrines of the Christian faith. On the fourth Sunday, the man told Maclaren he had decided to become a Christian. The preacher asked which message had brought the man to that decision. The former skeptic replied:

             "Your sermons, sir were helpful, but they were not what finally persuaded me to become a Christian. A few weeks ago, as I was leaving church, I noticed an elderly lady with a radiant face. Because she was making her way with difficulty along the icy street, I offered to help her. As we walked along together, she looked up at me and said, "I wonder if you know my Saviour, Jesus Christ? He is everything in the world to me. I want you to love Him, too." Those few words touched my heart, and when I got home, I knelt down and received the Saviour."

             Let's pray.