Missionary stories still encourage me.
And they convict me.
I’ve read stories of the Lord’s supernatural faithfulness and deliverance of missionaries worldwide. It’s amazing!
I’ve read stories when the Lord didn’t raise the dead or protect the innocent. I’ve read the stories of missionaries killed for taking the Gospel to distant lands. It’s equally amazing.
Both are amazing because the Lord calls all of us to live like that. He calls all of us to deny our desires and visions for our lives and pour them out for Him.
We’re not the first—by a long shot. As we’ve been moving through Genesis 22, we’ve watched Abraham follow the Lord when it was so very painful. We conclude this chapter in Genesis 22:15-24.
15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”
Genesis 22:15-24, New International Version
19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.
20 Some time later Abraham was told, “Milkah is also a mother; she has borne sons to your brother Nahor: 21 Uz the firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel (the father of Aram), 22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bethuel.” 23 Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milkah bore these eight sons to Abraham’s brother Nahor. 24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also had sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maakah.
After Abraham spared Isaac and the Lord provided the ram, the Lord reiterates His covenant with the patriarch. There are a few noteworthy elements in this restatement of the covenant with Abraham.
First, the Lord restates this covenant and swears by His own name. He hasn’t sworn this covenant to Abraham by His name before. This is important because whenever we read later in the Bible that the Lord made this oath to Abraham by “His own name,” it takes us back to these events.
Two, the Lord’s covenant with Abraham now includes taking the cities of their enemies (verse 17). It would be a long time until the Lord gives the children of Abraham the Promised Land. However, it teaches us here that there would be a conquest for the land. But these battles to take the Promised Land would also produce favor with the nations around them.
Lastly, in all the prior statements of these covenants, the Lord simply made them out of His grace. Verse 18 teaches us that Abraham’s obedience advanced the Lord’s covenant promises. That doesn’t change the covenant’s nature—it remains unconditional. However, it certainly teaches us that Abraham’s faithfulness to the Lord moved His hand.
We have the benefit of knowing the end of the story before we even start reading it. As I’ve written throughout the study of Genesis 22, we can see the hand of the Lord even if we’re left confused about why this event happened.
And it’s to that end I want to point your attention.
Jesus told us in Luke 14:26–27 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”
We can try to soften up the impact of His statements with some semantic understanding, but the message remains clear. It’s the same as Genesis 22. The Lord calls us to allegiance to Him first and, if need be, only.
Following the Lord may cause us to walk away from family and friends. It called Abraham to the willingness to give Isaac to the Lord.
Following the Lord will cause us to deny our own desires and motivations to subjugate them to the Lord. It called Abraham to trust the Lord for decades without seeing the promised child.
Jesus calls us to pick up a cross. But this cross is one of following Him and His way. To trust His heart when His hand is untraceable.
Do you trust Him like that?
Life Meets Theology 