Romans Chapter 4:1-25

This is a picture of Mount Hermon, the most northern part of Israel. Historically, its the place that God took Abraham. From this vantage point, you can see as far as the Mediterranean Sea and South toward the land of Egypt.

God told Abraham that all that he saw with his eyes from this vantage point would be populated by his descendents. The impression is a family of unprecedented proportions. In fact, this family was not just confined to the Hebrew people [there were no 'Hebrew people' yet] but Abraham, a descendent of Adam, is given the news that he will be the father of many nations; in fact the father of all who will trust in God. It is this that Paul emphasizes in Romans chapter 4 to the Gentile and Jewish believers in Rome. What these two groups did not keep in the forefront was that they were part of this large family envisioned by Abraham long ago as promised by God. Rather they saw themselves as separate, far from the same family, and no where near being brothers and sisters but actually going down the path of becoming enemies.

Its a dangerous thing to create divisions between people that God never intended. To boast in one's own identity over against another is to deny the fact that we are fellow human beings who belong to a much larger family than we ever imagined; a family where all gather around God. I saw first hand the results of such division when I visited the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Jerusalem. The reason the holocaust happened was because Germans believed that they were of a different sort, even a different race all together than the Jews. This sentiment turned into hatred which turned into the most terrible genocide that we have witnessed in the modern era.

When we turn to God and respond to Jesus Christ and his death and resurrection by putting our trust in Him, we become aware that we belong to a family of universal proportions. When we look on others we no longer see them [should not see them anyway] with a divisiveness or sense of superiority but rather a sense of brotherhood. When you think of what God promised Abraham, you realize that God's goal is to gather everyone to himself. Jesus is the gathering point, the center for such a universe. He is the one who has identified with every human being on earth. It is our place as members of this family to reach out to others regardless of their background. In essence, no one is excluded from this family. Jesus died for the human race. In this sense everyone belongs, the problem is that there are those that do not realize they belong. They keep searching and groping in the dark for a sense of identity. It is only at the feet of Jesus that we all realize we are part of God's family.

As you venture out this week to your jobs, schools, and neighbourhoods, remember that those you encounter are a part of this family. They may not know it. If they don't, you have the wonderful privilege of introducing them. The one thing we can share with them is that God has given them the privilege of being fruitful and multiplying. Everyone has a God-given right to fulfill this promise, the very promise that God gave to humanity in the beginning. This promise is reconfirmed by God with Abraham and rescued and recovered in Jesus.

Questions this week:

1. Why do we create divisions in church?

2. What is God's view of the world and people in it?

3. What challenges do you face in terms of looking at everyone equally?

4. What are ways that we can bridge the divisions between people in our culture and in our world?