Promises

"For I have chosen him so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised." Gen 18:19

This is a very personal scripture to me, I have a note attached to this scripture in my Bible app. That note is dated January 29th 2014, this was a time in my life where my wife and I had not been able to have children, and this scripture really spoke to me. I really felt like this was a scripture that was speaking to my future. As I read this scripture a few weeks ago I reflected on the last seven years. Here we are two children later and this scripture still speaks to me about God's call on my life to be a father. I also see three things that I believe God is saying to all of us: fathers, mothers, and families.

God chose you- God chose Abraham to be the one through which his nation would be birthed. He chose him to be the father in faith. I read this in 2014 and I felt that the Lord had specifically called me to be a father in my family. God has chosen each one of us for a specific purpose. God had a specific journey for Abraham and he has a specific journey for you. The thing that set Abraham apart was that he was obedient in that journey. The obedience that my journey required was to change how we were going to have our family. God wanted us to build our family through adopting. What is the obedience that he is asking from you?

He will direct his household- I felt like this was a direct charge to me, and every time I read this it is a challenge. Am I directing my household in the ways of the Lord? That first starts with being a model, living out the ways of the Lord in my own life. To really lead our family the phrase "do as I say not as I do" does not cut it. If I expect my children to treat each other with kindness then I must model that even if that person in the blue Ford just cut me off and I want to race around them on Shiloh. To direct our house means that we have to be intentional. It means we understand what our values are and teach that to our children. If we do not create a culture in our home that is stronger than the world's then the culture of the world will direct the lives of our children. One value that we have as a family is that when we mistreat someone we take responsibility and apologize to them, and in response to that we are quick to forgive.

I will fulfill my promise- When we walk with the Lord in obedience and we live a lifestyle directed by the word of God then we open a pathway for him to fulfill his promises in our life. It is about aligning our life and our family with his will so that he can perform his word. The amazing thing about God is that when he fulfills promises it goes far beyond just us, it passes to our children. Abraham's promise was not just for him but it affected every generation after him through Jesus. The priestly blessing was spoken to a thousand generations. When we receive the promise of God our lineage changes.