I heard a great word at church over the weekend and I have been thinking about it a lot this week.  The teaching came from a strange portion of scripture that maybe we don't fully understand because there is such a cultural aspect to it.  I will share a summary of the scripture and then the application that I have been thinking about and thankful for....it comes from Genesis 15...starting at verse 8....where Abraham basically asks God, "But, how can I know that you will make good on your promise to me?"  and God instructs him to prepare a blood covenant ceremony which would have been something Abraham would have understood.  In that time, when people made promises they were way more serious about them than when we say something like "cross my heart...hope to die....stick a needle in my eye"...they actually would sacrifice some animals, split them in two and separate the sections, then walk through the blood from these animals....and what they really, truly meant was, "I promise you this and if I break my promise to you I deserve to die"...the two people making the promise to each other would walk through the blood together.

However, after Abraham set up for the ceremony, the Lord caused him to fall asleep and spoke to him through dark visions.  When it was time to pass through the blood of the animals to make the covenant, Abraham was only an spectator....God made the promise through the blood, alone.....unconditional.  Sometimes it is so hard to accept things that are unconditional.

I wonder if we are also missing out on comprehending so many aspects of God's gift to us.