Abraham was now a very old man. The Lord had made him rich, and he was successful in everything he did. One day, Abraham called in his most trusted servant and said to him, “Solemnly promise me in the name of the Lord, who rules heaven and earth, that you won’t choose a wife for my son Isaac from the people here in the land of Canaan. Instead, go back to the land where I was born and find a wife for him from among my relatives.”

But the servant asked, “What if the young woman I choose refuses to leave home and come here with me? Should I send Isaac there to look for a wife?”

“No!” Abraham answered. “Don’t ever do that, no matter what. The Lord who rules heaven brought me here from the land where I was born and promised that he would give this land to my descendants forever. When you go back there, the Lord will send his angel ahead of you to help you find a wife for my son. If the woman refuses to come along, you don’t have to keep this promise. But don’t ever take my son back there.” So the servant gave Abraham his word that he would do everything he had been told to do. (Contemporary English Version)

The Spirit of God operates through us, God’s people. Although the Lord could do everything without us, God chooses to use us as servants doing the divine will. All of life is really and ideally a divine/human cooperative of the Lord working in and through us to accomplish good and divine purposes.

The spotlight of today’s Old Testament lesson follows Abraham’s servant – which is a picture of the Holy Spirit’s work. God has given us the responsibility and privilege of being humble servants in the world. Much like Abraham’s faithful and trusted servant, we are to fulfill God’s expectations to leave and go do the Lord’s bidding.

We have both the duty and delight of giving ourselves to the task of going out and finding the person(s) for whom the Lord sends us to find.

Jesus once said to his disciples:

“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.” (Mark 8:34-35, NLT) 

Blessing from God happens when we leave everything and follow Jesus. God is still holding out this promise of blessing that can be realized through leaving and going. As Abraham sent out his servant, the Lord sends out so that divine promises are realized and humanity is blessed. Consider some biblical examples:

• In order to experience marital blessing, God said in the beginning that a man must “leave his mother and father and cleave to his wife.” (Genesis 2:24) 
• The writer of Proverbs says that if we want to see blessing, to experience God’s presence and approval, you must “leave your simple ways.” (Proverbs 9:6) 
• Jesus said that if you have relational problems and are getting ready to worship you must “leave your gift at the altar.” Then, “first go and be reconciled to your brother.” (Matthew 5:23-24)  
• Christ stated that, as the Great Shepherd, he will leave the ninety-nine sheep to go after one lost one. (Luke 15:4) 
• The Lord Jesus commissioned us to do the business of leaving: “Go, and make disciples of all nations.” (Matthew 28:19). 
• Jesus also said, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.”(Matthew 19:21) 
• The invitation has gone out concerning God’s great banquet of blessing: “Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.” (Matthew 22:9)

Being sent, leaving and blessing, go together.

I “leave” you with some thoughts on stepping out of our friendly and familiar environment to know the blessing of God:

1. Hang around with others who want the blessing of God. Spend time with those who are eager to do God’s will and be God’s servant. Light each other’s fire, and let the Holy Spirit kindle a fresh flame in your heart by being around passionate Christian people. Don’t be a lone ranger, but instead consult and collaborate with others.
2. Walk across the room. God may not be calling all of us to leave this country and go to an unreached people-group, but he is calling us all to leave our seats and walk across the room to encourage another person in their faith; or across the street to strike up a spiritual conversation with a lost neighbor; or across town to a lonely or hurting elderly person; or down the street to hang out at the laundry mat to meet new people who need the good news of grace. And, by all means, we are to walk across the pages of Scripture to follow Jesus in obedience to the Holy Spirit’s promptings.
3. Step out in faith, no matter who you are. We might all consider Mother Teresa, who died in 1997, to be a super-Christian. She once stated, “By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus. God still loves the world and He sends you and me to be His love and His compassion to the poor to quench His thirst for love and for souls.”  Yet, at the same time, Teresa struggled in her faith for most of her life and often felt like her own soul was desolate. She once confessed, “In my soul, I feel just the terrible pain of loss, of God not wanting me, of God not being God, of God not really existing.” Even in this, her dark night of the soul was still the salvation for thousands.
4. Don’t talk it to death. There is always more research and information and counsel to obtain. At some point you need to act. We have no need to create a sub-committee to investigate the findings of that other committee in order to decide. Frederick Buechner said, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” Where does your passion and the world’s great need meet? Leave, and go there. 

We are servants, meant to fulfill the instructions of a God who is calling us and sending us to do good work in this world.

Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace. Clothe us in your Spirit so that, reaching forth our hands in love, we may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. Amen.