Focus

Stop and thank God for being present with you today. Ask for God’s guidance as you hear God’s voice through scripture and the writer.

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Read

Genesis 12:1-3 (NRSV)

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

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Reflect

In my opinion, this short passage from Genesis is one of the more profound passages in the Bible. God spoke to Abram, giving him a specific calling. Most Christians are probably familiar with this call of Abram since we claim him as a spiritual ancestor.

When we consider this passage, however, it is somewhat overwhelming. God, the maker and creator of everything, spoke to Abram and promised to make him the father of a great nation. Abram listened to and believed God. Then he acted upon the directions and promises God had given him.

What a lovely, inspiring story. But why did God choose Abram? Could it be that Abram responded? We are not told if God spoke to and called any other persons. Maybe God did. Could it be that Abram became the father of the nation that would bless the entire world simply because he was willing to hear and had enough faith to act upon what God told him what to do? Regardless, we as Abram’s spiritual descendants, should be marked by an ability to hear God’s voice, and then act upon the instructions God gives. This ability seems to be what marked Abram as different and, therefore, usable by God.

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Pray

Almighty God, give us the spiritual “ears” of the Holy Spirit to hear your call, and the faith to carry out what you call us to do. Help those of us who are part of your Church to seek your will and calling upon our lives. In Jesus name we ask these things. Amen.

Go with God.