The Promise: “A family of nations loving God together.” This is the vision statement of NorthLife Church of Fort McMurray & Anzac, Alberta. A regular week involves for me, the privilege of listening to the concerns of a Middle Eastern family as they get re-settled after losing their home and possessions in the northern Alberta wildfires. I also sit at the outdoor barbeque, sponsored by the church, and chat with three First Nations men who stopped by for a meal. On a sidewalk stroll on my way home to our condominium, I exchange conversation with fellow-walkers, a dad and son who are Somalian. A quick drop into one of the local stores finds me speaking with a lady from the Philippines. What an enriching diversity! More than that, what an opportunity!
I pray that these words, ‘all the families of the earth,’ may be written on our hearts. It is this expression more than any other which reveals the living God of the Bible to be a missionary God.
Over four thousand years ago, the LORD God gave a promise to Abraham. “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:1-3.
I heard the late British Biblical Scholar, John R. W. Stott, speak as he visited Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada several years ago. His penned statements grip me. “”Now we are Abraham’s seed (offspring) by faith, and the earth’s families will be blessed only if we go to them with the gospel. I pray that these words, ‘all the families of the earth,’ may be written on our hearts. It is this expression more than any other which reveals the living God of the Bible to be a missionary God. We need to become global Christians with a global vision, for we have a global God.” As Christ-followers and children of Abraham by faith (if not by ethnicity), we are commissioned to be a witness to those at home and abroad who are on the heart of God.