God's Vision for the Lost

In Genesis 18:17-18 we see how God reminds Abraham of his ultimate purpose for life, to be a man of influence, specifically a blessing to all nations.  The interesting thing about the text it is in the context of God's judgement.   And in the face of God's judgement Abraham was burdened, specifically for his nephew Lot, who now lived in the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which God was about to destroy.

We can learn something from Abraham here, our burden for the lost and others around us can also be fueled by the reality of God's judgement that will fully and ultimately executed by God one day.   And so Abraham like us, needed to be reminded again and again of his ultimate purpose in life, your purpose is to become a "great nation and all nations of the earth shall be blessed" by you. 

Here in Genesis 18 we come upon God’s 7th reminder to Abraham during his 25 years walking with the Lord ….   God reminded Abraham of this same vision for his life in chapters 12-13-14-15-17 of Genesis.  This is what you are Abraham, this is what you will be, a man who is appointed by God to stand between sinful man and a Holy God.  

He was not Abram, a man of Chaldea who was named after a pagan god of from the mountains of Haran, but he was Abraham, destined to be the father of many nations.  God's purpose for Him was to be a man of influence, a person of faith and a follower of God who would touch others.

We need to be reminded again and again of our call to be a blessing to the world around us in Jesus name.  It is so easy in the routines and slog of life to forget who we are, that we are the "light of the world and the salt of the earth."  We often forget why we are here, and when we do life becomes increasingly meaningless and burdensome. 

The greatest possible change that can happen in a person's heart is when they receive Jesus Christ as their Savior, are born again and begin to take God’s vision and burden for those who are lost and hurting.  In the most amazing way, when we receive Christ, we go from being a selfish people, to being a people whose eyes are opened to see and the needs of people around us.  

The book of Ephesians 2:10 instructs us this way, “We have been created in Christ Jesus to do good works prepared in advance for us to do.”  We discover in our spiritual journey that we are the happiest and the most joyful when we learn to serve others.  Marriages flourish when couples learn to put away selfishness and take on an attitude of sacrificial agape love.  Children benefit when they see parents and their elders sacrifice and serve.  Churches prosper when their leaders take on an attitude of servant leadership…

So let us take hold of God's vision for our lives and be like Jesus.  Again Ephesians 5:1 reminds us this way, “to be imitators of God... and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” When we do that than we are living the life God intended for us!