October 17, 2011

Genesis 12:3- “All the families of the Earth will be
blessed through you.”

We sometimes hear the Jewish people called “the chosen
people.” In Fiddler on the Roof the
beleaguered main character suggest to God that maybe God could choose someone
else occasionally. The above comes from the covenant (agreement) God made with
Abraham. God begins talking about how Abraham and his descendants will be
blessed but ends with the words above, declaring that they would also be a
blessing to others, all others. Of course, Christians believe that this
continues through Jesus who was himself a Jew and the focus of this divine
blessing. In our Grow Groups this week
we encounter the thought that Christians have too often reduced the good news of
God to the idea of personal salvation, that I get to go to heaven because of
what Jesus did. While affirming that, the author suggests that God does this so
that God’s people will continue to be a blessing to all the families of the
earth. Together and individually we get to be part of the story of God in
forgiving sin, healing the sick, befriending the lonely, feeding the poor, and
standing for God’s justice where it is lacking. This is so much more than going
to church for an hour on Sunday morning, as important as that maybe. This week,
how will you live out the calling of be a part of the story of God in blessing
all the families of the earth?

Don