Land · Heritage · Identity
The last box goes into the moving truck, and the rooms of the house you grew up in echo. Your height is still penciled on the kitchen doorframe, and someone else will paint over it next week. You hand over the keys and drive toward a town you have only seen in photographs. What place would be hardest for you to leave?
Abram’s father had set out for Canaan years before and stopped halfway, in Haran (Genesis 11:31). Now God speaks to Abram there. “Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, and your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing.’” (Genesis 12:1-2 WEB). God names the land only as the one he will show.
The land God promises is meant to bless every family on earth. “‘I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who treats you with contempt. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.’ So Abram went, as the LORD had told him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.” (Genesis 12:3-4 WEB). Paul calls this promise the Good News preached ahead of time (Galatians 3:8).
Spiritual Move: Prayer Walking. Walk out your front door and around your block or building. With each step, pray for the people in the homes you pass, that they would be blessed through you.
Photo by Egor Ivlev on Unsplash