Genesis 12

I've been sat here for half an hour trying to find some way of introducing genesis 12. I've played with words, told personal stories and attempted to use contemporary examples that would somehow convey the magnitude of this portion of history. Every time I've had to caress the delete key and start over again. I'm quite simply lost for words. I don't know how to express the gravity of what is about to happen.

When God opens his mouth and the promise of Genesis 12 is spoken to Abraham, the nation of Israel is born. For some that may bring negative connotations. They may have fallen on the wrong side of the conflict that has raged over land in the middle east. Other's are troubled by the idea that God would choose one nation over another. With human reason we argue that God would not be just if he chose one and not another.

All of our wisdom melts into insignificance as God unfolds his plan in these verses. Why is he choosing, singling out, make one special and not another? How could he? The answer is compelling. God says to Abraham "I will bless you". Why? "So that you will be a blessing" and so that "in you all the families of the earth will be blessed". God's vision is expansive, extending not just to the physical borders of one nation or the strategic partners in the continent but to every home, in every far flung inhabitance on the earth. God is driven by the greater good of all he has made. God's heart is bent on blessing, enriching, restoring, renewing and reviving the home of every tribe and tongue and nation. God has never been anything other than completely, intentionally and single mindedly missional. He is pursuing his lost creation with all his passion and energy.

What defines God's approach? It is relational. At the heart of God's world is relationship. Here we see the very essence of God's redemptive plan. God says "Abraham...I'm taking you, my man...I'm using you, and little by little through your offspring my message of blessing and love is going to spread from man to man, family to family, friend to friend." As sure as the scientist knows that metal will not resist the flow of electrical current, so God was sure that relationship would be the fastest and most effective conduit for his blessing. He knew that to start with one was the surest way to reach them all.

Faith is the property that defines Abraham as an effective conductor. He will not resist God's touch. He is willing, whatever the cost, to stand in the place where God will fulfil his purposes and enrich the world. We too are called to that place of privilege. We are invited to become part of God's worldwide redemption mission.

Unfortunately not every one has faith. They set themselves against God's mission and refuse to carry his current of love. The result..."and the one who curses you, I will curse". It is a great tragedy that many will resist God and sadly suffer its consequence. God's invitation is relatively straight forward "blessing" or "curse", "life" or "death", "hope" or "hopelessness"?. He has set his energy on giving us every opportunity to be children of Abraham and the invitation has excluded no one. God's desire for us all is blessing. Why resist a God such as this?

These verses frame the rest of scripture. What unfolds in rest of this great story is God's unrelenting fight to fulfil the promise that "all the families of the earth will be blessed". The journey is full of unexpected twist and turns and it is not one free of human suffering and trials but in everything God remains faithful to what he spoke to Abraham.