January 7

Genesis 18:2 is the key to 18:18-19a. "Abraham is to become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him..." Why we ask? We find our answer a few verses earlier in verse 2. "He looked up, and he saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed to the ground." God chooses humility.

Abraham was one of the richest men in the entire region. No doubt he had a reputation as a fierce warrior too, having previously (chapter 14) defeated 5 kings and their armies to rescue his nephew Lot (whom he is about to save once again, which is a powerful picture of grace). And yet here he is, on his knees in deference to strangers.

Paul writes in Philippians 2:3b, "...but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves."

How are we doing in deference today?

Pastor Fred