essay
FOUR TRIANGLES
- FOUR TRIANGLES
- Challenge - Take 6 sticks of equal length and form four triangles that are identically the same size. This challenge can help teach a valuable spiritual lesson.
- Solution - Those who attempt to solve this problem in two dimensions are doomed to failure. It is impossible to solve this problem in two dimensions. It is easy to do, however, in three dimensions. First take 3 sticks and form the first triangle. Then take the other 3 sticks and point them upward from the corners of the triangle to form a pyramid.
- Application - Many of life’s complicated problems defy earthly solutions. They are simple to solve, however, when we think upward and seek solutions from God. Abram, for example, was frustrated and discouraged because he had no son. God had promised that in his “Seed” all the families of the earth would be blessed, but he still had no son. It was then that God challenged him to seek the solution to his problem in a different dimension. God took him outside of his tent and challenged him to “look up into the heavens and count the stars”. It was at this point that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him for righteousness (Gen. 15:6). Unfortunately, Abram forgot that all things are possible with God and tried to solve his problems in two dimensions. His son Ishmael was a carnal son, from a carnal relationship, and represents a carnal covenant (Gal. 4:21 - 31). Ishmael was Abraham’s two dimensional “firstborn,” but God chose the supernatural Isaac to be the ancestor of Christ. Abraham came to understand that by faith God enables us to achieve things impossible to accomplish in only two dimensions (Rom. 4:18- 25; Heb. 11:11). Abraham’s grandson Esau, was the two dimensional “firstborn” of Isaac, but God chose his younger brother Jacob to be the ancestor of Christ. Before these boys were born our Sovereign God determined that Esau would serve Jacob (Rom. 9:12). In fact, God from His heavenly perspective, actually considered Jacob (Israel) to be his firstborn son (Ex. 4:22). God is obviously orchestrating history to teach us to seek for solutions in a different dimension. Judah, Abrahams great grandson, provides another reminder to look upward. He was not the firstborn son either, but God still chose him to be the ancestor of Christ (Gen. 49:10). Judah had three sons, Er, Onan, and Shelah. Thinking in only two dimensions would lead us to the false conclusion that one of these three sons would continue the Messianic line. God, however, had other plans. Perez was the twin son of Judah by an illicit relationship with his widowed daughter in law. Her name was Tamar (Gen. 38:27 - 30). Again our spiritual insights are challenged to trust God even when we do not understand Him. God selected Perez to be the ancestor of Jesus even though he was not the firstborn either. His older brother Zerah had legal proof of his priority, but God operates in spiritual dimensions that transcend earthly rules. The fact that Tamar was a gentile only adds additional emphasis to our need to think in another dimension. The salvation of the gentiles has always been the plan of God. Paul describes it as a part of God eternal purpose (Eph. 3:1 - 13). This too, however, requires innovative thought in another dimension. Your own personal salvation is perhaps the most important application of this lesson. Job asked: “how can a mortal be righteous before God?” (Job 9:2) If you are seeking an answer in only two dimensions you are doomed to failure.. Paul points out in his letter to the Romans that there is none righteous, no not one (Rom. 3:10). Even those who know nothing of the laws of God do not even measure up to their own standards. Every one of us has made promises to ourselves that we have failed to keep! Consequently, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God! So, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” (Col 3:2)