The Call of a Man and the Promise of a Seed

By Danny Saavedra

“If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”—Galatians 3:29 (NIV)

Yesterday, we read about the moment perfection came crashing down. In Genesis 3, we saw Adam and Eve rebel against God and bring sin and death into the world. But this was not the end of the story. God had a plan. You see, with the coming of death, our marvelous and merciful God also gave the promise of life. In Genesis 3, God explained how it would all go down: Women would experience pain and labor in order to bring new life into the world . . . but new life would come. And that new life would one day produce a Seed who would crush the head of the wicked serpent (Genesis 3:15).

As we continue on this journey, watching God move each piece into place, today we’ll meet a man named Abram . . . a man of faith through whom God chose to bring about the promised Seed. We’re first introduced to Abram in Genesis 12. In Genesis 12:1, we see God instruct him to pack up, leave his home and all his comforts behind, and uproot his family by traveling to a foreign land. Why did he have to leave his home? Because God wanted Him to leave his pagan culture in order to commit himself to the Lord.

Interestingly, Abram wasn’t even told where he was going. God told him to “go to the land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1 NLT). But along with this call to GO came a promise: “I will make you into a great nation. . . . All the families on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:2–3 NLT). And it’s in this moment where we see the reason God chose him.

It wasn’t because Abram was special, talented, or righteous. God chose this man because He knew Abram would obey. One commentary says, “As soon as he understood what God was saying, he started packing. It was instant obedience. . . . From then on, everything he did revolved around obeying God’s call.”

The craziest thing about God’s call and promise of making him a great nation and blessing to the whole world was that his wife, Sarai, had no offspring! How would God make a great nation out of a childless old man and his wife? Well, Abram wondered the same thing! So, God revealed His plan and told Abram he would have a child—and that eventually his descendants would outnumber the stars! And guess what? Despite the odds, Abram believed God, “and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith” (Genesis 15:6 NLT)!

But what about that promise to bless all families of the earth through Abraham’s seed? Galatians 3:16 (NIV) answers this, telling us, “The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say ‘and to seeds,’ meaning many people, but ‘and to your seed,’ meaning one person, who is Christ.”

This arrival of this Seed of Abraham, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the reason for the season! And because of this, those who rely on faith in Jesus are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith (Galatians 3:9 NIV).

In prayer, you can talk to God about your life and whatever is going on in the world. You can cultivate a richer prayer life by practicing prayer individually and in groups, perhaps with your family, friends, or small group. You can also practice praying Scripture with others. Today, pray both individually and with a family member or friend. Identify someone who doesn’t know Jesus or who’s struggling and pray for them as well.