CHALLENGE DESCRIPTION:
Anything memorable is something worth remembering or easily remembered, especially because of how special or unusual it is.
The Bible is not an ordinary literature, but a collection of 66 books filled with amazing characters. While others are extremely good, some are not. These characters are there to teach us and also influence our lives with Jesus being the most solid of them all.
Source: PixaBay
Once again, I'd like to thank the organizers for this challenge. It's a good venue for us to spread Christianity and the Good News to the entire Whaleshares Community. This is the second time that I will be joining the challenge. Personally, the 4 most memorable characters in the Bible are as follows: Jesus Christ, Abraham, Moses, and Noah. The article will not be presenting these characters in great detail, but I will only highlight a few important things that makes them a very memorable figure from the Bible for me.
Abraham: Father of Faith & Friend of God
Even in the Old Testament, faith is very evident. Though, we can't find the word "faith" in the Old Texts, it is very clear that the people, were moved by faith. It was faith that started Abraham's journey, in search for the Promised Land. He was also considered as a "Friend of God". And in the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, there we see Abraham in a heavenly place together with Lazarus. Clearly, Abraham was an extraordinary servant of God.
Abraham's journey started with this blessing and command from the Lord. He was instructed "Go from your country", and no questions asked, right away he obediently followed. Abraham was asked to offer his son, and that same day, we see him preparing for the journey. That's how obedient and faithful Abraham is. These are all very common stories of Abraham, which we often read on children's books. But in the next paragraphs, I will show another character of Abraham that makes him the most memorable characted in the Bible, only next to Jesus Christ, of course.
Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh.
At that time the Canaanites were in the land.
Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said,
“To your offspring I will give this land.”
So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
- Genesis 12:6-7
From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent,
with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east.
And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord.
- Genesis 12:8
And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning,
between Bethel and Ai, to the place where he had made an altar at the first.
And there Abram called upon the name of the Lord.
- Genesis 13:3-4
So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre,
which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.
- Genesis 13:18
Source: Bible is True
Throughout Abraham's journey, it is very clearly how prayerful he is. Anywhere he go, anywhere he make a settlement, he also built an altar for the Lord. We can imagine Abraham bringing his entire household, with their stuffs and livestocks in a journey. He was very busy making preparations for the journey, and yet he always makes it a point to build an altar for the Lord. That's really something that we all should learn from Abraham.
For most people, when a lot of things are happening in our lives, we often forget about God. And Abraham showed us, that God should always be a priority in our lives. Not an option, even amidst our daily hustles in life.
Moses: The Servant of God
Another character worthy of mentioning is Moses. He was very instrumental in leading and bringing the Israelites out of Egypt. He cried out the people's concerns to God, even pleaded for them, and begged for the people's forgiveness. And yet we see, at the end of his life. He was not able to reach the promised land. God only showed it to him and was not able to cross towards it.
In Deuteronomy 32:51–52 God gives the reason that Moses was not permitted to enter the Promised Land:
“This is because ... you broke faith with me in the presence of the Israelites at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the Desert of Zin and because you did not uphold my holiness among the Israelites. Therefore, you will see the land only from a distance; you will not enter the land I am giving to the people of Israel.”
Source: PixaBay
Moses is hailed as the leader of the Exodus, the one through whom God delivered His people from Egyptian slavery which symbolizes sin. To Moses, God entrusted the Law, the Ten Commandments to serve as our guide. But here's a very hard truth, Moses was not able to reach the promised land, simply because of disobeying God's commandments. I won't go into details here, but there was an instance where Moses disobeyed the Lord. When the Israelites where asking for water, God said "speak to the rock", and yet we see him striking the rock, using the old command from the Lord.
A simple and a very costly mistake for Moses. This is something that we really should also learn by heart, and not take lightly the commandments of God.
Noah: By Faith, he Preached
By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen,
in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household.
By this he condemned the world
and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
- Hebrews 11:7
The battle Noah fought with the world was unheard of. The message that he preached seemed a folly to everyone. He preached for a lot of years, and yet he was only able to save himself and his family. I myself, could not imagine the humilation, frustration and suffering that he must have undergone, just for the sake of following God.
He built an ark, not any ordinary ark, but on top of a mountain. What kind of foolishness was that? It was unthinkable. And yet, by faith Noah obediently followed the commandments of God, down to the dot. This is despite battling with self-doubt and enduring the criticisms and harsh words from other people. At the end, he emerged victorious, the Great Flood did come, and the world was caught off guard.
Source: PixaBay
We are in the same boat with Noah, the world will teach us different things. Things that were opposite with what God wanted to happen in our lives. It's totally up to us, we have the choice which path to take. And I can only hope that we pick the right path. The path that leads to righteousness and redemption, just like Noah.
Jesus Christ: Of Being a God and a Servant
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature[a] God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature[b] of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
- Philippines 2: 5-8
This post will never be complete without mentioning about Jesus Christ. After all, He was the center of attention of Christianity. It was through Him that salvation was made possible. He paid the price of sin, once and for all of us. One thing worthy of our attention is Christ's humility. He was equal with God, and yet he did not consider it "as something to grasped". Rather, he choose the form of a servant, to become human like us. Why did Christ do this? Well, he doesn't really need to do this, but he wanted to.
Source: PixaBay
If we think about it, Christ can save all of us without doing a thing. He has all the power. But why did he choose the path to Calvary?
Now my point is this, when Christ died on the cross, how many people were really grateful of it? How many people followed Him? To the point of offering their lives to God? The answer? Only a few. Now imagine, if Christ saved us instantly without doing a thing about it. How many people do you think would follow Christ?
The very act of dying on the cross, shows how he deeply cared of us. He showed us a great example of sacrifice, gave us a picture of the depth of His love for us. He was very obedient to death - even death on a cross.
Isn't that something? The King of all Kings, died, for you and me.
Let us not forget about that and continually strive to live a life of faithful obedience to God.
Nomination
I nomimate
, 
, 
, 
to the Flaming Challenge.
Thanks for reading guys.
Bless you!
Cheers,
Kaizen