(Source from “The Word Among Us”)

I will bless you. (Genesis 12:2)

We often forget that, before the Lord called him, Abram was a pagan. That means that, like everyone else around him, he worshipped false gods whose stories were steeped in the selfishness, violence, and pettiness of the world.

So imagine Abram’s surprise when he encountered the one true God! He was unlike any other “gods” Abram had already worshipped. There was a selfless quality about the way the Lord spoke to him. He didn’t ask Abram to perform elaborate sacrifices; he didn’t command him to go into battle on his behalf; he didn’t even threaten to kill him if he didn’t obey him. Instead, the Lord was totally invested in Abram, not himself. He promised to “bless” Abram even before Abram had done a single thing for him (Genesis 12:2). All God wanted was for Abram to leave home, that place of violence and selfishness, and travel to a new land where he and his descendants could begin a new, grace-filled life.

Just as he did for Abram, God wants to bless you—simply because he loves you. He’s not concerned with how much you sacrifice to him. He isn’t calculating your reward based on the number of good deeds you perform for him. He doesn’t “need” anything from you at all. He just wants to help you leave whatever “places” of sin, violence, and selfishness are in your heart so that you can receive his blessings. All he wants is for you to experience life in the promised land, the kingdom of his beloved Son.

In a world that is so often based on the give-and-get transactions of business contracts and self-serving relationships, God’s calling can be hard to believe. It can seem too good to be true. But it is true! Your heavenly Father loves you for who you are. He simply wants to bless you. Will you embrace his call and enter his promised land?

“Lord, give me the faith of Abram. Help me to follow you into freedom.”