“Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” – Genesis 28:14
God promised the trickster Jacob what He’d previously promised his father and grandfather before him. All the families of the earth would be blessed through the descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Not just Jacob’s family (Israel) – ALL families. Who? How? Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of God! It is God’s eternal, unchanging will to redeem for Himself and His glory a new people drawn from every tribe, language, and ethnic people group on the planet. This people will not be formed through marriage or birth but through faith in Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God. This people will be salt and light filling our world and blessing it.
The big story of the entire Bible is the story of this unfolding will and plan of God. After sin ruined creation, God promised a Savior, a Messiah, a Redeemer Who would defeat Satan, conquering sin and its consequence, which is death. The Old Testament follows the ups and downs of the family God selected to bring forth that Redeemer. The New Testament reveals Jesus, the Redeemer and tells how Jesus accomplished our redemption through His sinless life, sacrificial death, and physical resurrection. It then gives believers our responsibility until the glorious day when our Redeemer returns…. Make disciples of Jesus.
If you’re a follower of Jesus, then you’re part of God’s plan to redeem people from all over the world. You have good works prepared by God for you to do (see Ephesians 2:10). By your prayers and your gifts of time, talent, and treasure, God’s mission is being accomplished. People all over the world are finding new life and forgiveness for their sins through faith in Jesus Christ, the promised descendent Who is blessing all nations. But that work is not finished – not until Jesus returns. Commit yourself. Devote yourself. Let God’s will be done through you as you #FollowJesus