The Call of Abraham
Reading: Genesis 12:1-7
“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.”
Rather than giving up some favorite food, a better discipline is to set aside time for remembering through Bible study who we are as Christians. The word covenant is a good place to begin. God’s plan for redeeming a world filled with evil began in Abram. God made a covenant or agreement to bless this man so that he, in turn, would be a blessing to others. God’s free grace chose Abram from among the earth’s people.
While God initiated the covenant, there cannot be a real agreement without a response from the other party. Abram signaled his acceptance and his faith by obeying God and setting off on the journey to an unknown destination.
This covenant formed the foundation for the nation of Israel, and for all of God’s dealings with the People of God in the future. It defined where and how the people were to live. It encompassed relationships between them and God.
Abram’s positive response set in motion a long series of events that influenced the world. The Israelites had a Promised Land. We have the Scripture to study and guide us. The Church, the New Israel, has developed. God invites us to respond to God’s call, and to set off on our individual journeys.
For Reflection: What is my response to God’s covenant?
A Prayer Seed:
The God of Abraham praise, Who reigns enthroned above;
The ancient of eternal days, the God of love!
The Lord, the Great I Am, by earth and heaven confessed,
We bow before your holy name, Forever blest.
Daniel Ben Judah, 1404
