How Christians live reflect on the reputation of God. If we do not believe in God, how can we expect others to believe in Him? If we do not live lives of value and character, why would anyone want to be a Christian? Abraham is honored because he did show the greatness of God in his life. Below is a summary of a devotion from 32 days with Abraham by Mark Etter. You can have the full devotion by clicking here. You can have a sample of three full devotions from the book and one of the Bible studies by clicking here. The whole book is available on Amazon.com as a softcover book or for kindle.

Focus Passage: Genesis 17: 1-14

There can be no doubt that we have an Almighty God. Yet, our world often doesn’t see Him that way. They see His church and it seems to them lifeless and empty. A great God will be shown to the world by great people. God reveals Himself to us as the one who is all sufficient and calls His children to show His greatness to the world. “I am the Lord Almighty, walk before me and be blameless.” (v.1)  Thirteen years before this, Abram and Sarai had tried to make God’s promises come true by their own hand. The time had come for God to show the world through Abram and Sarai exactly how great He really was.

God begins the revelation by reaffirming the promises made almost twenty-five years before. “As for me, this is my covenant with you. You will be the father of many nations.” (v.4) Abram may have begun to give up on ever seeing the promises come true, but God had not forgotten them. God reaffirms the promise of a great host of descendants. Nothing that Abram or his descendants can do will change those promises. God has spoken. It will happen.

The promise of land was based solely on the grace and love of God. Yet, Abraham and the Jews would enjoy the land only if they were faithful to the Lord. “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come.” (v.9)  A great God deserved a people willing to worship Him and show Him to the world. If they did this, they would enjoy the blessings that God had in store for them as His people. 

A great God deserves great people. Most of us can think of at least one Christian whose faith shines with character and love. These were people who reflected God. We admired them and wanted to be like them. What would your world be like if the majority of Christians you knew lived with values, character, and love? How would that impact the level of joy in the church, in their families and in their communities? How would it change the world’s view of God? Abraham is beloved in his day and in ours because he shows the character of the Lord. As you and I walk with the Lord and live with His character, we can show Him to the world and let them see why we believe in and love our God. We can let our world know just how great our God really is.

      What is one thing that you can do today or this week to strengthen your walk with the Lord?