Go… so that you will be a blessing. – Genesis 12:1a, 2b
Scripture reading: Genesis 12:1-9 (one more time!)
We arrive today at a point of transition in our study. Up until now,we have done three main things:
- We have seen God’s promise to Abraham that he would be a blessing to the nations.
- We have seen how Jesus fulfilled the promise and calling of Israel.
- We have seen how God’s promises for the future include the complete fulfillment of that promise at the return of Christ.
What we must do now is locate our lives in the midst of that great story. We live between the first coming of Jesus and His return, and that is the time of mission. All who share the faith of Abraham are children of Abraham and that means we share in his calling and mission.
As Michael Goheen points out in his book Light to the Nations, just as God said to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-2 “Go… so that you will be a blessing,” so He says to His church in Matthew “Go… and make disciples.”
It is this story that gives us our mission and purpose as a church. We, like Abraham, are called to be a “so that” people. We are blessed, not to keep that blessing to ourselves, but blessed so that we will be a blessing to others. This begins, not with a list of things to do, but with a sense of identity in Christ. Mission is not just something we do, but it is who we are.
Suggestions for prayer
That God would help us grow in our sense of identity as the true children of Abraham in Christ, blessed so that we will be a blessing.
This daily devotional is available in a print edition you can buy at Nearer to God Devotional. Nick Smith is pastor of the United Reformed Church of Nampa, Idaho.
