For the last few days I have found a particular phrase quite often from the first readings:
Analogically speaking just like a tree that is sometimes praised for is girth and strength; its flowers appreciated for their fragrance and beauty, the fruit tasty and sweet, its leaves green and healthy, its branches strong and useful... however the tree is not to invest itself into any of these as much as it should in its roots. The same roots which are never noticed by anyone. But without them being and doing their work, none of the aforementioned would be appreciated and admired.
Yahweh invites Abraham and Isaac then, and me today, to root ourselves in Him. He may also entice us with great blessings, victories, possessions, name and fame but these are only to remind ourselves all the more of the need to be rooted in Him. Just like the tree that does not have to do only one thing - it can simultaneously grow above and beneath the ground - but learn to prioritize (strengthening its roots), we too are called to do the same... and the rest will take be taken care of (both by God and me).
I will give to you and your descendants this land...Besides this there are a few other phrases like, 'I will bless you...', 'I will keep you safe...', 'I will make you ...'. At first I thought of Yahweh bribing Abraham and Isaac into believing Him to be their God. However, there are also subtle and sometimes blunt commands, from Yahweh, not just to accept him as Lord and God but to be rooted in Him. No matter what happens to them, where they go, what they own or not, He is to be their ultimate dependence. That without Him the rest would not really last long. It is not a threat or a warning but a challenge and a generous invitation to experience.
Analogically speaking just like a tree that is sometimes praised for is girth and strength; its flowers appreciated for their fragrance and beauty, the fruit tasty and sweet, its leaves green and healthy, its branches strong and useful... however the tree is not to invest itself into any of these as much as it should in its roots. The same roots which are never noticed by anyone. But without them being and doing their work, none of the aforementioned would be appreciated and admired.
Yahweh invites Abraham and Isaac then, and me today, to root ourselves in Him. He may also entice us with great blessings, victories, possessions, name and fame but these are only to remind ourselves all the more of the need to be rooted in Him. Just like the tree that does not have to do only one thing - it can simultaneously grow above and beneath the ground - but learn to prioritize (strengthening its roots), we too are called to do the same... and the rest will take be taken care of (both by God and me).
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