As we return to the Old Testament in this edition of Thrive it will be worth taking a few days to review some highlights in the story of Israel so far. The Books of Chronicles begin with a big picture perspective by including a genealogy stretching back to Adam. This highlights an important fact: God plans to save the world through a family tree. When Adam rebelled against God, it was as though he uprooted his whole family tree. However, from this fallen tree God selected a shoot with which to begin again. This new shoot was Abraham. Abraham would be the beginning of a new family tree of faith. But this was only possible because Jesus Christ replanted the tree in God. To become a Christian is to be grafted into this great family tree of God’s people. You become a child of God by becoming part of the family. The Bible begins with the family. It begins with God’s commitment to his family as expressed in the promise to Abraham here in Genesis 12:1-3. Then each of us individually become heirs of this promise when we join the family. Your faith is not just between you and God. It is a family thing. This certainly begins with God’s work in us individually which leads to our individual choice to commit ourselves to Jesus. But committing yourself to Jesus means joining his family. The divine family is what defines you as a child of God. The family context also enables you to appreciate your individuality as you recognise that you are a unique complementary part of something bigger.
Pray for God to bless your church so that blessing can flow to you.
Read 1 Chronicles 1 and Genesis 12:1-3
