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Discipleship as boundary-breaking
Jesus’ kingdom embodying mission cut across the boundaries that commonly divide humanity. The model of Jesus is of a mission that embraces all humanity and one that tends to be offensive to the religiously minded.

In Matthew’s Gospel, Matthew has skillfully constructed Matthew 8–9 into a series of mighty acts of Jesus. The initial segment (8:1-17) is instructive for seeing Jesus’ kingdom signifying actions as involving the shattering of religious and cultural boundaries. Jesus performs three explicit miracles in this segment: cleansing of a leper (8:1-4), the healing of a Centurion’s servant (8:5-13), and the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law (8:14-15).

It is significant to reflect on the reason for Matthew reporting these initial three events as he does. All three of the persons whom Jesus engages in his mighty actions represents a group marginalized in some fashion in the pious circles of first century Judaism. The leper was ritually unclean and forced to exist on the fringes of society as an unwanted outcast. The Roman centurion represented the hated Empire and was a tangible reminder of the ongoing Exiled condition of God’s people evening their own land. Likewise the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law is significant because women enjoyed much lower status than men in the culture of the time. But throughout the Gospels, Jesus associates freely with women. This was uncommon for a spiritual leader.

The importance of boundary breaking is not merely symbolic or politically motivated. It is central to the values of the kingdom. The Gospel is for all humanity. Moreover the Gospel advances through its introduction to outsiders. When former outsiders become insiders through the Gospel, they become new conduits of God’s grace to previously unreached people. Jesus’ boundary breaking created new mission driven people. Reflect on the three groups mentioned in Matthew 8 (lepers, Roman centurions, and women). All of these groups serve as unexpected witnesses for the power of the Gospel. Jesus sends the leper immediately to the priest to serve as “a testimony to them” (8:4). Immediately after Jesus’ death on the cross, the centurion’s present at the crucifixion exclaimed, “Truly this was the Son of God.” This is profound in that their confession mirrors Peter’s earlier declaration at Caesaria Philippi (Matt 16:16), but unlike Peter who balked at an understanding of Jesus as Son of God that involved death on a cross (Matt 16:21-23), the centurions recognize the reality of Jesus’ identity after watching how he died. In essence, they are the first truly public witnesses of Jesus and they are outsiders. Likewise (and perhaps unsurprisingly in light of God’s mission) women serve as the initial witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection (Matt 28:1-10 cf. Mark 16:1-8, Luke 24:1-12, and John 20:1–18). Deploying women as heralds of the good news of God’s victory is profoundly significant and subversive. Women were unable to serve as witnesses in legal disputes yet God unleashes them to be the first proclaimers of the Resurrection. Their message ultimately changed the world.

Thus, by engaging such persons actively and without reservation, Jesus models a cross-cultural and boundary exploding mission that can run against the current of societal prejudice and injustice. The Gospel is liberating and egalitarian in outlook. God’s mission involves extending the message of the Kingdom to all people, especially to those marginalized by society or by religious insiders. Boundary breaking mission also keeps social justice on the front-burner. Jesus demonstrated through his life that God is radically for the marginalized, the poor, the sick, the dying, the foreigner (even representatives of the privileged empire), and the outcast. Christ followers of today would do well to heed this model as they plot to launch to communities of faith.

Perhaps reflection on these question: Where would Jesus establish new communities of faith today? What people in our social location represent outsiders? A missional reading reminds God’s people that a biblical model of missional outreach will always include persons different from us.

Here is a draft of a brief message on 1 Thes 5:1-11:
1 Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. 5 You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6 So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

What is the difference between good teams and great teams? The best teams know the winning formula. In soccer, Manchester United is world renowned for coming up with huge goals late in games when lesser sides would have folded and accepted defeat. In the NFL, the New England Patriots have demonstrated consistently for more than a decade the ability to win the biggest games often by the slimmest of margins. In the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers led by superstar Kobe Bryant have won championship after championship. All of these teams across the sports spectrum share a key trait that undergirds their success: they all expect to win. They play confidently. They know that they will experience challenges and adversity, but they face such times with the assumption that they will prevail. Basketball legend and six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan has said, “I felt that I had that winner mentality instilled in me….”

The key to courageous living for Christ is cultivating a deep-seated confidence that in the end love wins. God’s mission to establish his eternal reign of healing, hope, reconciliation, justice, and mercy is a done deal. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus has secured the future for good. But hardships and tribulations remain for the present. Paul’s message today is simple. We are destined to win. We need to believe this. We need to embrace this. We need to live this out before a watching world.

In our Scripture lesson, Paul moves to wrap up his First Letter to the Thessalonians by affirming our hope in Jesus Christ. Paul writes to remind the earliest Christians in Thessalonica that the future is securely in God’s hands. This truth is the grounding for living fully for God in our daily lives.

The future is absolutely secure. God will bring human history to a decisive and just end. The biblical promises and metaphors of an eternal era of peace and righteousness will come to fruition. God’s victory through Jesus’ death and resurrection has paved the way for the future of God’s dreams. Paul’s teaching in our Scripture lesson assumes this.

Perhaps surprisingly Paul opens his exhortations with a stern warning against the temptation to focus on trying to figure the time and season of God’s climactic actions. History has proven Paul’s words to be necessary and applicable throughout the ages. The security of the future is good news. But knowing the day and hour is unnecessary and irrelevant. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus said, “But about that day and hour no one knows neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (24:36). Yet rather than reflecting deep on the security of knowing that the God’s ultimate victory is a done deal, many focus instead on trying to figure out when the end will occur. The obsession with figuring out the times and seasons leads to disappointment when human predictions prove wrong and loss of focus on doings God’s work in the world today. It is enough for us as followers of Christ to know that human history is moving toward a remarkably good and just future.

So what is the purpose of Paul’s focus on the coming of Jesus at the end of days? Paul desires for us to live profound and courageous lives as his people before a watching world. The message of our secure future is meant for encouraging and building us up so that we can serve as vital witnesses to the power of the Gospel in the presnt. To this end he gives a two-fold positive exhortation.

First, in light of our secure future, Paul says, “Be ready.” Rather than working to figure out when the end will arrive, Paul suggests a different approach. We are to live each day with the assumption that Christ may come. How would our lives be different if we truly thought that today might be the last day of the present age? How would our priorities be different? How would we spend our resources? How would we divide up our time? Paul declares that our lives must be lived with a sense of urgency. Now is not the time for complacency or resting on our laurels. The Gospel is humanity’s only true hope. Each of us has a role to play in advancing God’s mission of extending his blessing, grace, and mercy to all. To be ready is to live each day with no regrets because we gave our all for the sake of the Gospel. Paul uses the metaphors of light/darkness and sobriety/drunkenness to capture the mood.

Second, Paul says, “Live well.” This is not a prosperity message. Paul is not calling us to affluence and security in the present. Paul is calling us to a life lived well for the sake of the Gospel. We are children of the day. Therefore Paul deploys the familiar triad of faith, love, and hope. In verse 8, Paul describes these as armor. Paul is under no illusion that the Christian life is easy. Yes, our future is absolutely secure¬—Jesus died for us so that we may abide with him now and forever. But we will continue to face hardships, persecution, and challenges. Such times serve as opportunities for offering a profound witness for the Gospel. We are not to shrink back in fear but to shine like stars on a dark night (Phil 2:15).

No matter the score, by the end of the fourth quarter, God’s love will prevail. This is the hope that Paul announces. Now is no time for clock watching or for computing how much time is left. Rather we are to be ready daily and live fully for God’s mission in our day. Let us live courageously by faith, be known to the world by love, and serve tangibly as voices of hope to others who desperately need what only the Gospel can provide. Amen.

Here is a draft of some reflections on Philippians 2:1-13

1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

Ours is an age of self-promotion and radical individualism. Emerging generations have been tuned to assume the rightness of personal expression and autonomy. Focus on self in all of its glory is the expected norm of our culture. Yet none of this is new. Deep within us is a desire to control, to exert our own will, and to exalt ourselves over others. Some of us may be overt in expressing this; others may be more subtle or even passive-aggressive. But it is present nonetheless. In his devotional My Utmost for His Highest Oswald Chambers sublimely defines the nature of sin as “my claim to my right to myself.”

The apostle Paul is writing to encourage the Christ followers in Philippi to live lives worthy of the Gospel as citizens of heaven (1:27; 3:20). In our Scripture lesson, Paul opens with a series of “if” statements to capture the imagination of his hearers and to remind them of the tangible benefits of following the way of Jesus. Paul assumes that the Philippians have indeed experienced encouragement, consolation, sharing in the Spirit, compassion, and sympathy. He lists these out as a means of exhorting the Philippians to aspire for a higher life, but profoundly the way to a higher life is intimately tied to turning away from our own desires for status in favor of the life modeled by the Lord Jesus. Paul calls on the Philippians to “make my joy complete” and then sketches out an ethic that is other-centered, promotes unity, and tangibly embodies the same self-less intentionality that Jesus brought to his earthly mission.

To illustrate this life Paul includes in his letter a poetic hymn about Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. The poetry of verses 6–11 serves to unpack what it means to embody the “same mind that was in Christ Jesus” (v. 5).

First, Jesus’ life calls us to move from a life of exploiting our own rights to one in which we are willing to relinquish our rights for the sake of God’s mission. Jesus’ incarnation is the model. Verse 6 is perhaps the most profound text in all of the New Testament. It reminds us of Jesus’ mindset in embracing his humanity: “though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited.” Jesus enjoyed all of the prerogatives and status that belong to the divine. But in the ultimate counter-cultural move, Jesus subverts all human notions of what divinity entails and fully embraces our humanity. This is the essence of Jesus’ self-emptying. He willingly sets aside the status and rights of being God and instead takes on our flesh and blood for the sake of God’s mission to offer healing, hope, wholeness and reconciliation to all Creation. As we ponder God’s mission in our day, this text invites us to think carefully about what rights and notions of status that we need to let go of in order to live fully as the people whom God created us to be.

Second, Jesus’ life calls us to move from a focus on self-preservation to a life shaped by the cross. There is a line that marks the demarcation point between bondage and freedom. It’s the difference between the life that God calls us to live and the status quo existence of the masses. The cross is the key. It wasn’t merely that Jesus was obedient to the point of death–it was that Jesus willingly embraced death on the cross. Crucifixion was reserved only for slaves and rebels against Rome. The Son of God died a death associated with persons of the lowest status. If we want to lives that demand explanation, we must die up front to self and our notions of status so that we can truly live.

Last, Jesus’ life points clearly to the paradox of sacrifice. In God’s economy, you gain life by losing it. You receive by giving. The highest calling is servanthood. Our temptation in life is to pursue endlessly our fifteen minutes of fame. Too many among us grieve over our perceived anonymity as though a life of profound meaning and worth is found only in receiving the acclaim of others. Abraham Lincoln said, “Don’t worry when you are not recognized, but strive to be worthy of recognition.”
The lesson here is simple: let God exalt you. God the Father responds to Jesus’ obedience by “super exalting him.”  Jesus was already God, but this text asserts that God has given him the name that is above all names. How did Jesus reach this pinnacle? Not by self-promotion. Not by asking for it. But through the life of a servant who was fully obedient to God’s mission in the world.

Paul concludes with a powerful exhortation to a cross centered life lived out in community. In verses 12-13, Paul roots the power to live in a Christ worthy manner in God. It is God who works in us. But God’s transforming power is subtle in the sense that it requires receptivity. It is not a call for us to try harder, but rather for us to die more fully to our old modes of existence. Moreover Paul’s concluding words are addressed not to individuals alone but to a community of Christ followers. The way of Jesus is not a solitary existence but one embodied in community. This is the point of Paul’s letter. The world needs to experience the reality of the Gospel. For the believers in Philippi, this meant a unified witness for the sake of the city. I suspect that Paul would give the same exhortation to us in our day.

The Ethics of God’s New Missional Community

In our understanding of God’s people we have continually used this definition: God’s people are a missional community that reflects God’s character to/for/in the nations. In the stories of Genesis 12–50, it is easy to see mission and community, but what about character and holiness? In the above section, we have recognized the importance of God’s faithfulness to his promises as a key theme. This included observing times when God is faithful despite the actions of God’s people.
Genesis 12–50 is fundamentally about God’s faithfulness in the progress of his mission to bring blessing to the world through Abraham, but there are clear hints of the expectation by God of a distinct conduct and lifestyle for the success of God’s mission.

In Genesis 17, God cuts a covenant with Abraham in which God gives the rite of circumcision. The chapter opens, “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him, saying, ‘I am God Almighty; walk continually before me and be blameless. I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly multiple your numbers” (Gen 17:1-2). Genesis 17 is a significant moment in Abram’s life because God gives him the new name Abraham to signify a new epoch in his life and by cutting an explicit covenant with Abraham. These opening verses raise an expectation of a lifestyle that is congruent with God’s character. The combination of “walk” (Heb: hlk) and “blameless” (Heb: tmym) occurs elsewhere in the Pentateuch to describe Noah, “This is the story of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the peoples of his day, and he walked continually with God” (Gen 6:9).

Genesis 17 does not give detailed information about what was expected of Abraham. The only regulation mentioned in Genesis 17 is the necessity for future generations to circumcise all males within their households. Otherwise, we must wait for the Sinai Covenant (Exodus 19:1–Num 10:10) to encounter specific ethical and cultic regulations. As we discovered in the previous section the emphasis in the book of Genesis is on God’s faithfulness. The next passage however serves to establish further the force of God’s exhortation:
“Then the LORD spoke, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him that he may guide his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring about for Abraham what he has promised him” (Gen 18:17-19).

God is poised to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of the wickedness found in those cities. Due to his relationship with Abraham, God reveals his intentions. In response, Abraham will intercede successfully on behalf of his nephew Lot (18:22-33). With the negative example of the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah in the immediate context, verses 17-19 clearly present a contrast between God’s expectations for Abraham and the lifestyle/ethos of Sodom and Gomorrah. In fact, this verse establishes an expectation that part of Abraham’s vocation was to “guide” his children in the way of the Lord. This clearly suggests that Abraham was to instill an ethic of faithful obedience into his household.

This text is critical for understanding the interconnectivity between mission, holiness, and community. In this context we clearly see all three elements. Abraham’s family (community) was to embody a distinct ethos (holiness) as part of embodying the promise of serving as a blessing for all nations.
Genesis 22:16-18 “[The angel of the LORD] said, ‘I swear by myself, utters the LORD, that because you have done this—you have not withheld your only son, indeed I will truly bless you and expand the number of your offspring so that they are as numerous as the stars in the heavens and the grains of sand on the seashore. Moreover your offspring will inherit the gate of their enemies and all nations of the earth will find blessing for themselves in your offspring because you heeded my voice.’”
Abraham’s willingness to follow God’s command to sacrifice Isaac epitomizes faithful obedience. This text embodies the tension between God’s promises as unconditional and the necessity of human response. In the context, we need to read God’s words to Abraham as an affirmation of his faithful obedience. God already promised Abraham all of the things included in the text. It is clear that Abraham’s obedience was not the cause of the God’s promises, but Abraham’s obedience points the way forward for God’s people. It is the desired response to God’s prior grace.

Genesis 26:2 The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land about which I am speaking to you. 3 Live in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your offspring I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to Abraham, your father. 4 I will multiply your descendants as though they are the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will find blessing, 5 because Abraham heeded my voice and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws.”

In Genesis 26:2-5, God directly extends to Isaac the promises initiated with Abraham. God’s appearance occurs during a time of famine and serves to assure Isaac of God’s presence with him lest Isaac flee to Egypt. Verse five is critical for our reflection on the ethics of Israel’s ancestors. God cites Abraham’s obedience as the basis for renewing the promises for Isaac. God promises Isaac land, many descendants, and the mission of serving as an instrument of blessing. Abraham’s willingness to heed or listen to God’s voice functions as the model for Isaac to follow. Obedience enhances the ability of God’s people to advance God’s mission in the world.

In Genesis 39, Joseph models faithful obedience despite his circumstances. By Genesis 39, Joseph is serving as a slave in Egypt in the household of Potiphar an officer under the Egyptian Pharaoh. The narrator describes Joseph as handsome. His good looks attract the sexual advances of Potiphar’s wife. Joseph resists her by asserting his faithfulness in serving as a steward for Potiphar. Moreover in verse 9 he adds, “How can I do this great evil and sin against God?” Joseph’s goal is witness. He will not act in ways that dishonor God. This is the essence of a holiness rooted in mission. Joseph understood that his actions directly impacted the way that others would perceive his god.

We don’t want to over-interpret these passages, but the implications are clear: holiness matters. Faithful obedience enhances the missional success of the people of God. Too much is at stake in God’s mission to disregard this aspect. Scholars often debate a key question about the Abrahamic covenant: Is it conditional or unconditional? Perhaps the best answer is, “Yes.” God’s call of Abraham and his descendants is certainly an unconditional offer of promise and blessing. God offers unmerited favor and promises to Abraham. Yet, this unconditional offer nonetheless requires a human response to enact it. Genesis 12–50 is more interested in demonstrating the grace and faithfulness of the LORD who called the families of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but the necessity of a holy community is clearly implicit and adumbrates a more thorough treatment beginning in the book of Exodus.

What do you think?

© 2010 Brian D. Russell

The recurring theme of childlessness is a dominant one in Gen 12–50. It strikes Abraham/Sarah, Isaac/Rebekah, and Jacob/Rachel. In the first two instances, childlessness serves as a threat to God’s promises to multiply descendants for God’s people. In the latter, it sets up the intra-family tension that God will use to preserve God’s people during a time of famine. In the ancient world, childlessness was a mark of divine displeasure and punishment. Sexuality was a direct connection to the divine. The religions of the ancient Near East practiced rituals to persuade the gods to bless an infertile couple with children. In the context of Gen 12–50, childlessness functions to mark God’s people as the product of God’s grace and mercy rather than the result of human procreative power. God’s people do not exist due to some sacred manipulation of the gods. God’s people are a gift to the world. Abraham and Sarah endure decades of childlessness before the conception of Isaac. God called Abram and Sarah to be the wellspring for a new humanity that exists for the sake of the nations. The great irony of Abram’s story is his lack of an heir. Abram is obedient to God’s call and trusts God’s promises, but he has no son. God renews his promises to Abram in 15:1-6. Abram’s trust in God is reckoned as righteousness, but there is still no son. In chapter 16, Abram and Sarah take matters into their own hands by conceiving a child through a surrogate, Sarah’s slave Hagar. This was an acceptable practice, but it was not the way God planned. God does not need humanity ingenuity to fulfill promises. God’s plan entailed a miraculous birth. Childlessness is no obstacle for God. Thus, late in life and according to God’s renewed promise (Gen 18:10), Sarah bears a son named Isaac for Abram.

The very next generation experiences the same challenge. God’s providence brought Isaac and Rebekah together (Gen 24), but like Abraham and Sarah, the bearers of God’s promises are barren. The drama is short-lived as God opens Rebekah’s womb in response to Isaac’s petition, but the theme remains the same. God’s people are multiplied through the gracious work of God.

God ability to bless the childless serves as a recurring theme in the Old Testament. In the sublime Ps 113, the psalmist portrays the grandeur and transcendence of the LORD in the opening verses (Ps 113:1-6). Stunningly, the psalmist asserts this great God’s care and compassion for the marginalized. Verse 9 announces, “[the LORD] gives the barren woman a family; she becomes a joyous mother of children.” When Isaiah is looking for a symbol of God’s work of salvation for those languishing in exile, he proclaims, “Sing out O childless woman; break into song and shout you who have not labored. For the children of the desolate woman will be many more than those of the married woman, says the LORD” (Isa 54:1).

What is the point of this theme? The people of God are not limited by the weakness and struggles of humanity. God’s people are capable of much more than the sum of their collective abilities, talents, wealth, and resources. In fact, the biblical God often bypasses the typical human avenues of power to pursue his causes through outsiders. The advance of God’s mission is dependent solely on God’s strength and power. God declares this definitively for the initial generations of God’s people by multiplying descendents for Abraham through the wombs of women who otherwise were unable to bear children. It also teaches the community about the character of God. God does not merely side with the powerful and the self-reliant. He is with those whom other human communities tend to marginalize. God advances his kingdom and mission through the margins.

Genesis 1–11 is the prologue to the story of God’s mission to redeem a lost humanity and heal a broken world. It provides the backstory. It describes the world as God originally crafted it. Gen 3–11 explains poignantly why the world into which we were born is not the world of God’s dreams. The tragedy of sin’s infestation of creation is evident on the pages of Gen 3–11, but in it we already have seen seeds of hope, not because of humanity but because of the goodness of the Creator God. The Creator God is also the God who in these same texts begins works to be the God of reconciliation and redemption. This good news will climax in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth millennia later.

After Babel, we left the human story in alienation, ambiguity and puzzlement. On a positive note, the earth is again teeming with men and women. By dispersing people across the globe, God has partially fulfilled his creational intentions for humanity of 1:26-31. If God’s plan had been for the earth to be full of His visible representatives, the negative is that women and men are lost. Though the possibility of functioning as the imago dei remains, their brokenness and rebellion testifies to something other than the character of God. They have filled the earth, but by there actions they are embodying the wrong mission.

But human life goes on. We encounter a new genealogy in 11:10-26. This genealogy ends with the report of Terah’s sons: Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Provocatively, Abram is the 10th generation from Noah. Noah had been the tenth generation from Adam. The careful reader is bound to ask this question: Will God again move to judge the earth and start anew as He did in the days of Noah?

The answer is “No.” God does not move to destroy the earth as he did in the days of Noah. God remains faithful to his covenant cut with Noah and all living creatures. A new story does begin in 11:27 but it emerges from the preceding history and genealogy. For reasons that our text does not make explicit, Terah takes his son Abram and grandson Lot and begins a journey from their home in Ur in southern Mesopotamia with the land of Canaan as his intended destination. This is an interesting report full of possibility. Most of us think of Abram as from the land of Ur. This is true, but Ur was not the place where Abram was called by God. Abram under the leadership of his father was already on the way to Canaan. But for reasons unknown, Terah stopped in Haran, a town hundreds of miles north of Ur located in the upper regions of the Euphrates river. Terah, Abram, and Lot settled in Haran without reaching Terah’s intended goal of Canaan. 11:32 reports that Terah died in Haran at the age of 250. This brief historical note serves as the backdrop to one of the most significant texts in the Scriptures: Gen 12:1-9. In Genesis 12, God calls Abram to resume the journey started by Terah, but this time, God ups the ante by inviting Abram to become the point person of a new movement of God.

What do you think?

© 2010 Brian D. Russell
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