Genesis 24

Key Verse: "I want you to swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac." (Genesis 24:3-4)

This testimony was very hard for me to write. I grew up in a very well-grounded Christian home, and my parent’s marriage is one that I greatly respect and use as a model for my own. I have always considered my parents to be excellent models of a Christian relationship. Yes, they still struggle, and they do fight and have their own differences, but there are a lot of things that I draw from them. Their commitment to the Lord is the main aspect, and how they include God in their decision-making has always impressed me.

Reading Genesis 24, I took a lot of that from the Bible as well. Abraham and his servant both prayerfully approached the situation with their concerns, but ultimately it was God who brought Isaac and Rebekah together. Through Abraham’s faith, the servant’s obedience, and Rebekah’s family’s humility and servitude to God, Isaac and Rebekah were brought together. Seeking God in my own marriage must be of utmost importance.

However, the main point that I took away from our Genesis 24 Bible study was not necessarily from the passage itself but something that M. Joan said. While discussing the similarities that a husband and wife need to have, one of them was of having the same spiritual mission. I knew this in my heart but had never found an adequate way of putting it into words. When asked about my future husband and what qualities I would seek, of course my answers were the same as any young, well-grounded Christian: he must be a man of faith. But even two people of faith with opposite callings can fail when pushed into a marriage situation. A husband and wife must be of one mind and heart when approaching any large decisions; since they share one another’s lives and also the lives of their children and those they lead, there must be common ground between them in this area.

For Isaac and Rebekah, the common ground was shared in Abraham and God’s promise. Abraham wanted a woman who feared God and from his own family instead of one of the neighboring Canaanite women. A girl from his own family would be better suited to Isaac spiritually. While a Canaanite woman might convert and be a good wife for Isaac, she also might not, and possibly drag Isaac away from the God he served and from his own family to achieve her own ends. However, Rebekah chose to go with Abraham’s chief servant to go back and be Isaac’s wife, and she played an immense role in God’s promise.

For my parents, their common ground was also in mission. My grandfather was a pastor, as well, and through that my mother was prepared to marry into that type of ministry. It set the foundation spiritually and mentally so that she could be my father’s wife and accept her role as a pastor’s wife.

I am not ready to marry yet, but my future husband and I must also share a common spiritual goal. The major issue with that is that I do not know my own calling yet. I am growing in the UBF but I do not truly know if my own heart lies in ministering to college students, or if God is preparing me for another niche in ministry. Perhaps, as a future teacher, God wants me to be a shepherd for high school students, or for even younger children. I do have a growing heart for ministry but my goal is not set. Before I can marry, before I make that next step and join with another person for life, I must prepare my own heart to be married to God first. I must find my ministry and prepare my heart and mind for the work of God and get ready practically. Once I find my own sense of mission, I can start to move on toward my future.

One Word: Preparing a heart for mission that I may share with God and my future husband.