Genesis 17 is a little chat between God and Abram. Or is it? It seems to me that God was addressing us all, and still is.
For those of you who want the cliff notes version of this chapter, Merry Christmas!:
God says to Abram:
Walk before me and be blameless.
I will make you fruitful.
I will keep my promises.
I have heard your prayers for your child.
I will keep my promises for your children too.
Get circumcised.
(Rachael's footnote version)
These words are not meant for Abram's ears alone, but were intended for ours as well.
God asks us right off the bat to walk with Him. 'Walking with God' in Christianese means that you include Him in your life day to day, moment to moment, and thought to thought. We can choose to make our own decisions, or ask God what His say is in what we do, where we go or how we think.
Which leads to part two: He says if you start this jaunt with Him, He will keep His promise and make you fruitful. I personally love fruit, but for those of you like my mother, who have an aversion to anything not packaged in plastic and labeled 'Hostess', let's clarify. Fruitfulness means that you will begin to mimic each step that God takes. For example: He loves, so as you walk together, you will love.
Did you catch that little word He snuck in there at the end? "...and be blameless." Whoa whoa whoa, that is a tall order Mufasa! (Sorry, lately I have been calling people Mufasa) Back to the point- He made you in His image, and He is without sin a.k.a. blameless. While we 'walk' with Him, blamelessness is the strut we are trying to mirror.
'Walking with God' is less about our imperfect wobbly Bambi knees and more about continuously asking for a piggyback ride. Have I lost you in my analogy yet? Obviously we won't always keep in perfect step with His lead. We will trip and stumble by tuning out God and going our own way. Usually this seems all fine and dandy in the beginning and ends with a face plant. When you find yourself in this position, brush it off and start following Christ again. As Grandpa says, "Throw some dirt on it and git." ...OK he never said that, but I'm sure someones Grandpa does. If you want to see a perfect example of walking with God, look into what Jesus did. Jesus always points you to the Father.
Speaking of fathers, Abram, now Abraham, (yeah huge difference, I know) was himself a father of Ishmael. He had prayed for his son and God acknowledged those petitions and assures Abraham that Ishmael's future has already been written-full of blessings. Praise the Lord for this part! Can I get an amen fellow parents?! So, we can trust from this chapter, that the prayers we shoot up for our children are in fact being heard and answered.
Wrapping up the chapter, Abraham (99yrs), taking his whole clan with him, goes and gets circumcised. Not the next day. Not after asking God, why or how come. He goes and does it. BAM. That is where Nike got their catch phrase, 'Just Do It'. And remember, this was before IBprofin. Now that is dedication. This was an outward symbol of commitment, but God still calls us to be circumcised, only presently, it's in our hearts.
"...and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God." Romans 2:29
Questions to mill over:
How is your 'strut' looking different from God's? Maybe it's a fib here and there, casual gossip with close friends or what you let your eyes see.
What has God called you to do, or not do, that you have put off for tomorrow when you should do it today?
What do you pray God gives your children? Comfort? Happiness? If so, how are you going to respond if that isn't God's plan for them?
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