Messages from Trinity Kimberly Way

God has made some amazing promises to Abraham: family, land, nation. The question is, “Is that the only reason Abraham is following Him?”

In Genesis 16 we encounter a third obstacle that faces Abraham in his journey with God: his own plans and desires.

What is it that led Abraham to have such faith and trust in God? Genesis 15 provides us with the answer to that question. In this story Abraham encounters another obstacle to following God: doubt. In the face of his own circumstances, he has begun to doubt whether God can really follow through on His promises.

Out of fear and a desire for self-preservation Abraham leaves and goes to Egypt, where his fears lead him to lie at the expense of his wife and almost endanger the promise itself. Luckily for Abraham, God delivers him from the consequences of his bad decision and returns him to the land, reassuring him of His promises.

Genesis marks an absolute low point in the story so far: human (and angelic) wickedness has reached such a degree that God regrets that “he made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart”

“That’s wrong! That’s terrible! That’s not the way it is supposed to be!” Such are the words we say when we encounter pain, suffering, disease, death, disaster, and tragedy. We scroll through our newsfeeds and are bombarded daily with stories that highlight the reality of the broken world that we live in. So if God made the world to be so good, what happened?!

Though made up of several books containing a variety of literary genres, the Bible is not a collection of random stories or pieces of literature. Rather it is one single narrative from beginning to end, with one central character: God. In its opening pages we are introduced to him and to some foundational truths which echo throughout the rest of Scripture’s pages. Specifically, in the opening lines of Scripture we learn that, before the beginning, there was God, there was love, and there was darkness. And these three things are important for us because they help us understand that all of creation ultimately finds its purpose in God and that our lives are designed for self-giving love with God.

Among Jesus’ final instructions to his disciples was the command that they were to be his witnesses to the very ends of the earth. But such a calling is not one that any of us can achieve alone.

From the beginning of time we were called to partner with God in the work He is doing in the world. At creation we were made as His image to care for the world He has made. Now, in salvation, we partner with Him in reaching those who are far from Him and introducing them to Jesus. And these relationships are all around us!

We aren’t called to live our life of faith alone. It should be instructive to us that Jesus didn’t just call individuals to follow Him; He called them into a community.