Galatians 3:17
“What I am saying is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise.”
When thinking of the covenant God had with Israel, most would refer to the Ten Commandments. That’s half right. Paul speaks of the earlier covenant. The one made with Abraham. One doesn’t invalidate the other. They both existed in a parallel sense beside one another. This covenant is in Genesis 12:2, “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.”
This is what the Lord wants to do to all that believe and follow Him. For Abraham, the following came in 12:1, ‘Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you.”‘
The Lord asks things of us. Our first act is to accept His Sons sacrifice for us. Then He tells us to trust and follow Him. Thus the journey begins. He created us to live in conjunction with Him. Think back to the Garden of Eden. The couples task was to carve out a living in that paradise, while depending on and checking in with the Lord.
How do we do that? We live our days as we normally would. We commit our day to Him, ask for His guidance and protection. Things rarely go as planned. Instead of getting upset, we ask for patience and wisdom. In the process, we are to love others as we love ourselves. We ask for love and compassion and move through it. It often doesn’t feel loving. Sometimes it’s all we can do to be patient. We’re trying and He’s helping. It becomes more natural in time.
As we look back, we see great progress. A great lyric from the song, The Road to Zion’s in Your Heart, says, “Sometimes it’s good to look back down.
We’ve come so far – we’ve gained such ground. But joy is not in where we’ve been Joy is who’s waiting at the end.”
Days and weeks turn into years. As we’ve followed and obeyed, we notice something. He’s blessed us. That’s another part of the blessing of Abraham. He prospers us and gives us respect. Proverbs 3:5, 6 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.” The straightening of our paths is the blessing. Things rarely turn out the way we’ve imagined, but all of the sudden we see it. Our circumstances are better than we would have imagined.
We also see that others are thinking highly of us. I can recall the shift as well as the comments made by others. That was new. It felt good. While the bible cautions us about worrying what people think of us, God’s favor is part of what He wants to do for us.
The cool part of all of this is that He wants us to be genuine. That is to be the person He’s created us to be. Nothing more. Which is amazing, as it takes the pressure off. True, there are some challenges. Moses was afraid to speak. As he obeyed, it all flowed naturally. We will also feel challenges. Once we obey, He brings us to new heights; new normals. We see ourselves in better places than we would have imagined.
The last part of Abraham’s blessing is that God wanted him to be a blessing. As we walk in obedience, He uses us to be a blessing. This also flows out of us being genuine. He gifted us all in particular areas. Saddleback Church offers class 301. Afterwards, every one takes a gift assessment. This allows all to see the things they are good at as well as the things they are passionate about. They meet with someone at the church who tells them the areas where they can help. The Holy Spirit also leads us in areas to help. He leads us into areas and relationships that we are able to be helpful. We learn the truth of the verse, “It is more blessed to give than receive”, (Acts 20:35).
Lord, thank You for the great blessings You give us. Thank You that through Christ, the blessings of Abraham get passed on to us.