Reflections From Sunday Evening

Today we were looking at Genesis 22. That is the story where God tells Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering. I was looking at traditional and alternate interpretations of the text. I won't go into all that now. But I want to go back to the idea that we might focus on verse 11. This is the verse where just before Abraham goes through with sacrificing Isaac God intervenes. He stops Abraham from going though with the sacrifice. We generally focus on Abraham's response but here we look at God's action. This is a significant moment in the story of redemption. Abraham is leading God's people. They will become a great nation. Later a new leader named Moses will arise. There will be ups and downs for the people of Israel. Prophets will come forward. Later God will come in Jesus Christ. Apostles will carry the message of the Gospel. Through history the faithful will continue the message and untold numbers will believe in Jesus Christ and continue the people of God initiated so long ago. When God called out to Abraham I see him beginning a new way. The people where Abraham's people were going had many practices such as worshiping many gods, child sacrifice, sexualized religious practices and other things. When God says "stop" a new way is introduced. The people of God will be distinct from the cultures and nations of the world. They will not practice those acts the others took for granted. A new way is beginning. When Moses brought the 10 Commandments they were counter to the practices of others. In a world with a multitude of gods the Lord says you shall have One God. In a world of idolatry there is a prohibition of graven images. The list goes on. The people of God continue to this day. We may forget some of this but we still carry the distinctive mark of the people of God. The people of God live differently from the prevailing culture. We think different. We live different. We are different because Christ lives in us. ...Something to think about. We are the people of God. What does that mean to us? On another note... Today PWUMC held our Trunk or Treat at Chin Elementary School. We partnered with the school and were able to share with many who are not in our church. I thought it was a great witness. So proud of our Children's Ministry and whole church. It's been a good day. (Chiefs win?) - (Go Royals!) steve