The Seed of Abraham
Paul was given a mission by God. He was to preach to the Gentiles a message of hope. He taught that if we belonged to Christ then we were Abraham’s children and heirs of Abraham. This was a startling message! And, if we were heirs of Abraham, then, we were heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. As a result, we would inherit all the blessings God had promised faithful Abraham. It did not matter our gender, ethnicity, or cultural heritage, for we would become God’s children. But there was a condition! What was it?
In Our Father’s Footsteps
There are those in our world who miss the important message that faith, like the faith of Abraham, is not mere wordplay. It is more than mere belief. Like Abraham we must understand that faith requires obedience, and sometimes it is ‘costly!’ To live in covenant with God, as Abraham did, means we must act faithfully and demonstrate our loyalty. Ancient Israel, though the physical heirs of Abraham, failed in this task. Only the few walked with God, their father, and kept his laws. The majority failed due to a lack of faith and this disloyalty led them into the sins of idolatry, immorality, and ingratitude. These are common issues in Christianity today, but why?
Understanding Our Calling
Walking in Abraham’s footsteps means we understand the connection between faithfulness and obedience in our walk with God. God called Abraham to walk with him. Is he calling us? If so, are we willing as Abraham was to give up our past life. Abraham responded to his test of faith through willing obedience. He left everything behind in Haran to go to a ‘promised land’ that God said he would inherit. Believing faith produced obedience. And God honoured Abraham’s faithful obedience with promises of blessings for him and his children. We are Abraham’s children and heirs of all the blessings so we can be a blessing to others. Faith requires faithful action. Abraham was able to act in faith towards God and to endure many hardships from famine to warfare. He faithfully walked with God and protected those that God had put in his care. He was God’s agent and his obedience would ultimately bring a blessing to the whole world. Do our actions bring a blessing?
God’s purpose was, and still is, that his children should be agent’s of God’s blessings in the lives of others. To fulfill this purpose as heirs of Abraham we must exercise faith. But sometimes this faith requires costly obedience, so we can be an example and a light of God’s way. Are we willing to follow in our father’s footsteps of loyal obedience?
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