Readings: Genesis 12:1-9; Psalm 33; Matthew 7:1-5
Reflecting on this whole pact between Abraham and God, I want to draw three crucial lessons.
A.The promise of God may seem impossible and unrealizable but God will always fulfill His promise.
In Jeremiah 1:12, the Bible says God watches to fulfill His words. Every single promise God made to Abraham, He fulfilled. He became a father of faith; God gave him a land, a name, a nation. Nations are blessing themselves with Abraham’s blessing, major religions trace their origin to him and what is more, the Messiah came from Him.
If you have a promise from God, be rest assured that he will fulfill everything He has promised. We may not know how but He is God, a covenant-keeping God (Numbers 23:19).
B. The most important thing in our relationship with God is obedience.
Obedience unlocks blessings. Some people have not received their blessings because they have not obeyed. What God asks us to do may seem counter-intuitive, He may not tell us all about it, He just wants us to show that we trust Him and obey.
Imagine how hard it must have been for Abraham, at that age, to be told to leave all his possessions and the world he was familiar with to an unknown world, land and people. Yet he obeyed and the blessings followed.
Many of us won’t do this at all, we want to see where God is leading us before we leap, with God, we must be willing to leap even before seeing, it is called trust, God is worthy of such complete trust and total obedience.
C. God chose Abram for these inter-generational blessings, not because of any merit on Abram’s part but because God decided to.
God chooses, blesses and favours people not always because of merit but mostly out of His grace.
If we see someone so blessed, let us not rush to presume their righteousness, if someone’s life is hard; let us not be quick to judge them. This is the message of today’s gospel.
Sermon was preached by Rev. Fr Emmanuel Baraka-Gukena Okami on June 21, 2021.