June 29, 2026:

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. And I will make you in to a great nation, and I will bless you.’” (Genesis 12.1-2a)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

We can follow the path which God put before Abram in this way: country (geographic location); people (general population with its specific culture and climate); and father’s household (family legacy and inheritance). Note with the last, this is nothing like what Jesus taught in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Obviously, the son did not leave the country nor the people of that country. He did leave with the family legacy which he demanded from his father. Abram did not make such a demand. Abram took what he had made for himself and his family as a successful entrepreneur. He was not dependent on his father except for spiritually. Abram was called by God to act in obedience to Him as he was in obedience to Terah as they were going to Canaan and had to stop (and stay) in Haran. The Prodigal Son went on his own volition and separated himself from his family. I could go on with the comparison and contrast. However, the bottom line is the call to faith and obedience to finish what Abram’s father had started as God commanded. It would be a good testimony to us to follow in the footsteps of the one who Israel called “The Father of Faith.”

So, by a similar token let us then follow the path which Abram followed to God’s destiny for him. It looks like this: land (geography); nation (a people with a shared understanding of their existence as called by God); and a blessing (family, possessions and legacy). In today’s world where migration and immigration are current topics of interest and conflict, how do we as mighty ones of God perceive our own calling to follow God as Abram did? In the gospel, Jesus speaks of leaving family, friends, home to further the Kingdom of God on earth. Some people understand that to be a literal move. Others see it as a spiritual and psychological transition from “old ways” to “new ways.” Jesus does call us to live according to a new covenant. It does not replace old one but redefines it with an understanding of the internal change which must occur regardless of one’s location. The call to “love one another” is a focus on loving the “family of God” of which all believers are a part. In the broken world of today, blended and shredded families are commonplace. It should not be the legacy of the Church nor its ministry. We are to focus on the ministry of Christ as our model and template for this “transition” to a new place. It is the model of redemption, restoration and reconciliation. And what is that place to which we go? It is two-fold: the Kingdom of God in the midst of us and our Eternal Home established by Christ in the Heavens to be a new earth dwelling place forever.

In both those instances, the promise of God remains the same. We are one people, one faith and one blessing in the one family of God.

TODAY’S PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.