(Gen 12:1 NIRV)
“Abram and Sarai took up all their possessions they had accumulated and the persons which they had acquired and set out for the land of Canaan…”
Most of us are familiar with moving for a job change but gathering up all ones possessions and all the family and setting out for a land they had never seen based solely on the promise of God. There were some key promises God made: there was a promise of land (1); becoming a great nation (2); God promised to bless Abram (2); 3 – God will make his name great (2); Abram will be a blessing and God promised to protect Abram from the attacks of others (3). Finally God makes this amazing statement: “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
It is amazing that these promises continue today. Many others including ourselves have discovered that God is a rewarder of those who seek Him but the key ingredient is faith. (Heb. 11:6). Abram’s faith is remarkable in that he uproots his whole family because of the promises of God. In the same way those who are children of Abram become recipients of the promise and those who continue to extend that promise to “all the families of the earth”.
What an amazing reality to be caught up in Abram’s story and more importantly the promises of God made thousands of years ago. What is even more staggering is that we also become a blessing to others as we pass on the good news of God’s promise and bless others with the reality of God’s gospel to a lost world.
At the heart of this God is looking for people of faith. People who do not passively receive the blessing but have the kind of heart of faith that seeks to pass on that blessing to others. In fact I am convinced that only Christians with a growing faith or confidence in the promise and story of God will actually seek to perpetrate those promises to others. We can, like Abram, be part of that work of God where all the families of the earth are blessed. Every person we communicate and manifest the promise of God (the gospel) and it changes more lives influences more and more families on earth.
As I step into the new year I can look back (way back) and see that I am part of a historical and eternal story that is sealed with the promises of God. As I look forward I can see that I am part of blessing every family on the earth as God fulfills His promise to Abraham – this is going to be a fabulous year!
Happy New Year – Pastor Brad Little
