The Original Call

The Original Call

As Christians we often talk about the Great Commission in Matthew 28; to go, make disciples of all the world. But there is a call of God on our lives from MUCH earlier in the Bible that speaks to the same thing.

Genesis 12:1-2

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. And 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 him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

God wants to live in relationship with us. The call of God is not simply to right belief, but to right relationship and obedience. Abram had no scripture, no church, no pastor. He only had a trusting relationship with God.

This mirrors Jesus call to, “Follow me.” God is calling us to go, be on the move, and trust God in everything. This also is the original “Great Commission” (Matt 28:18-20). “I will bless you… so that you will be a blessing…. In you ALL the families of the earth will be blessed.” God’s blessings are not just meant for us to enjoy, but for us to share with the world.

God calls us out of our comfort zone. Abraham had to leave his country, his kindred, his father’s house and follow God. That is WAY outside the bounds of what we would normally think of as “outside our comfort zone.” We can often be our best when we are follow God outside of our comfort zones. Outside of our perceived abilities, or things we understand, places we want to go, or people we want to be around. When we are out of our comfort zone we are more likely to rely on God.

God will be the one to make us great and God will bless you so that we will be a blessing.

I don’t know about you, but I have a desire for greatness. I want my life to matter. I want to be an effective Disciple. I want to be blessed.  I could focus my attention on making this happen by my own hands. If I did that, I would surely be conforming to the worlds ideas of greatness. Jesus’ statement on greatness is simply, “The greatest among you is the servant of all.”

In reality, the only way to achieve this is to humble yourself in obedience to God and not worry about it. Regardless of our perceived worth, if we walk with the Lord, God will give it to us, in his own time and own way.

God will be the one to bless us. We should not be trying to earn our blessings, or to make our own blessings. Our blessings are meant to be a gift from God…. And our blessings are meant to in turn bless others. Too often I feel like we think God blesses us so we can be comfortable and have what we need.  God blesses us so that we can bless others. We can generously share what we have. Usually we think about material possessions, but what about generously sharing the grace and forgiveness you have received from God with others? What about sharing other blessings from God, like God’s plan and purpose for you, the great relationship you are able to have, so much more.

Share the ways God has spoken to your heart through Scripture, prayer, conversations with others or just life.

Finally trust God as your advocate, and your defense. God will bless those who bless us and curse those who dishonor you. We should have no need to retaliate.. leave that to God. Trust God to take care of all of those things.

From the beginning God’s plan was to have a people that would know their creator, sustainer and redeemer. People who would in turn help others come to know him. The original call of God to us is a call to leave our comfort zone and follow him. To trust God, and share the blessings from God with others so God can bless the world through us. Finally we are to let go and leave the outcome of other people’s actions to God.

Reflection:

What (who) has God blessed you with?

How has a relationship with God been a blessing?

How have you shared that with others?

How can you share that with others?