The Demand of Grace ~ Genesis 12:1-4 ~ Second Sunday in Lent

If I could re-title the Book of Genesis, I’d call it A Series of Unfortunate Events—a title I admit I’m borrowing from children’s book series from author Lemony Snickett, of that same name…

Think about it: the creation begins so majestically, and so beautifully…  Human beings are in paradise, walking with God.  Then just when everything appears perfect, Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit—and sin enters the creation.  Before you know it, their son Cain murders his brother Abel.  The human race becomes so corrupt, that God is sorry for creating it.  So God sends an enormous flood to wipe everything out, save for a man named Noah, his family, and the creatures they bring on the Ark. 

So after the flood, you’d think things would be back on track.  And you’d be mistaken.  Once again, human beings turn corrupt and arrogant.  They, too, wanted to become like God—just as Adam and Eve did.  So they set out to erect the Tower of Babel—as a monument to their own greatness.  God comes down, and confuses their language, so that they must abandon the project (hence the word Babel). 

Then, without warning, God appears out of the blue to a man named Abram. 

God commands him, “Go.  Leave your home, your land, your kin, and travel to where I tell you to go.”

And God makes a whole bunch of promises:

“I’ll make of you a great nation.  I will bless you and make your name great.  You will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you; I will curse those who curse you, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Now keep in mind that there’s nothing special about Abram.  The Bible doesn’t praise him as being righteous and blameless before God, like Noah was.  Abram is a seventy-five year-old man, with a barren wife, and a brother who isn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed.  Abram wasn’t even seeking God—but God showed up. 

What we have here is God’s new plan to deal with the chaos and corruption that’s plaguing the creation.  God is choosing a husband and wife, to create from them a nation.  These are a people who will be loved by God unconditionally, even in the spite of their own disobedience.  They will know God in relationship through faith; and they will be empowered by God’s Spirit to do God’s work of blessing the creation.  This is pure grace.  But grace demands obedience. 

If Abram and Sarai are to see God’s promises come to fulfillment, they have to leave behind their familiar world, including their land, and their extended family.  They must step out into an unknown world.  And that’s only the beginning.  They are going to wait a very long time for these promises to come to fulfillment—and they must trust God to keep the promises in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.  Remember, Sarai is barren—and she’s already 65 years old the day God appears to Abram.  They will wait another 25 years just to get a son.  Hundreds more years will pass before Abram’s descendents will take possession of the land God promises. 

But they trust God.  They believe that God keeps promises.  They obey God.  Those who wait on God and obey God while they wait will see God’s promises fulfilled.  Those who obey God see God.

Whether we realize it or not, God has come to us in the very same way God came to Abram and Sarai.  God chose you, at the foundation of the world, to be God’s own.  God didn’t choose you because you live up to human expectations of being righteous and worthy.  God chose you totally out of divine grace.  God has claimed you to love you forever.  The blood of Christ cleanses you from all sin.  God promises you eternal life through the death and resurrection of Christ.  Today, you are being formed and gifted to participate directly with God in loving and healing the world. 

In you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 

But every promise demands faith and trust.  You must be the person you are becoming by the power of the Holy Spirit.  You must walk with God in faithful devotion.  You must pray, and pray often.  You must immerse yourself in God’s Word and in worship; you must eat at the Lord’s table.  You must confess your sins and receive God’s forgiveness.  But your inner faith must also be your outer faith.  You must forgive sins.  You must love others and serve them, according to their needs and according to the gifts God has given you.  You are a living sign of God’s graciousness by how you live and how you love.

So ask yourself two questions:   1) In what ways are you struggling to obey God and do God’s will?  2)        Which of God’s promises do you struggle most to believe and trust?

It wasn’t easy for Abram and Sarai to wait on God—and it certainly isn’t any easier for us.  God’s Spirit is upon you, raising you up from fear to faith, and empowering you to be a blessing to the earth.  God does not want for to be mired down in life’s Series of Unfortunate Events.  That’s why Christ walks with you.  Life is a gift to walk with Jesus, and see with him the awesome acts of God.  So let your eyes be always open for opportunities to do good, to forgive sins, and be a living sign of God’s love.  God keeps promises.   So while you wait, carry on in faith and faithfulness—and know that as you do, the dark of night will give way to the dawning of the Kingdom of God.