Father Abraham and Identity

The story of Abraham's trust in God is a profound one that carries a message of faith and obedience. This inspiring narrative began with God’s wonderful encounter with Abraham and initiated the promise that would ultimately be realized and fulfilled in the person of Jesus. We are truly blessed and we are the beneficiaries of today that God is faithful to his Covenant promises. But when we trace back our lineage of faith, we would go all the way even before Abraham.

God spoke his plan into existence, and it’s recorded in Genesis 1:27, 28:

"So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” These verses show a sequence of events that God created Mankind in his image, the image of God he created them male and female, and then God blessed them and said to them to be fruitful and multiply. The very act of creation is powerful in how God made man and woman, but then the very first thing God did regarding His creation was He blessed them. The first act that God does after he makes man and woman in His image is He blesses them and that is very significant. God is indeed a God who blesses.

The idea of blessing in the scripture, especially as we see it in the Old Testament, is a profound act of bestowing on somebody an identity. It's God's way of saying "I bless you" and in that blessing, he tells us who we are. Our identity is received from God, it's not achieved or personally decided. God tells us who we are because He's our creator, he made us. But then out of that identity flows a sense of destiny or a purpose. God says "This is who you are, I bless you and I bestow upon you a sense of identity." But then out of that identity flows a purpose.

God commands us to be fruitful and multiply, to partner with Him in co-creating. He sends us forth out of this established sense of relationship. We know who we are in relation to God and by that, we know what we're called to do. A lot of people try to do something to discover who they are instead of flowing out a sense of being that God establishes. Our earliest human memory is God blessing us. He made us and he blessed us.

However, after Adam and Eve were created and blessed, they forgot who they were, lost their identity, and made some decisions. Sin enters the story and disobedience, violence, and wickedness become part of the human story. This leads us up to chapter 12 where God in Genesis meets with a man named Abram and he initiates a covenant with him. If Abram would in faith believe in God, there would be the fulfillment of something that God is determined to do. It's a continuation of the desire to bless.

In Genesis 12:1, the Lord said to Abram: "Go from your country, your people, and your father's household to the land that I will show you and I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and I will make your name great and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse and all the people of the earth will be blessed through you."

Even though there's violence, wickedness, and judgment of sin on the earth, God has not moved away from who he is. He takes the first step, he initiates the next move in response to the sin and the violence and the wickedness that comes as a result of Adam and Eve's disobedience. God still is committed to blessing. He comes to Abram and He says "I'm going to bless you, this is who you are Abram and if you'll obey me and follow me and trust me then I will do something through you to fulfill this eternal purpose that God had from the foundations of the earth."

A blessing is God giving power to somebody or something to do what they are designed or intended to do. So, the question is: do you believe that God blesses you? Do you think that God still is in the business of blessing today? The question that I have for you is the same question that the Patriarchs had: when you think about the blessing that is under threat, what will you do? Will you trust God with it or will you take matters into your own hands?

The story of Abraham is a lesson of trust and obedience, a testament to the blessings that God bestows upon us. Remember, like Abraham, we too are blessed and trusted by God to fulfill His purpose.