As I read and re-read today’s first reading from Genesis, I couldn’t help but notice that it was a great deal for Abram and his descendants in perpetuity. With just one condition: they had to keep God’s covenant. In Genesis, five sentences describe the incredible life-changing benefits God promised Abram.
First, Abram’s name changing to Abraham would reflect that he would be the father of nations; second, his offspring would become kings; and third, they would possess the whole land of Canaan. And all of this has no expiration date.
It’s striking that the benefits of God’s covenant take up five sentences, and what God asks of them only takes up one. Likewise, Jesus offers something that we all crave and yet is almost unimaginable: eternal life, with one condition…that we keep His word.
Too Good to be True
So often, our protective radar goes up when we hear a deal that seems too good to be true. You know the promise of platinum-level health care if only you call the number listed on your TV, or perhaps instant arthritis pain relief letting you get back on the basketball court if you apply this never-before-seen all-natural supplement.
So, often, it’s not only the claim but who is making the pitch. We just don’t believe them. Jesus faced the same skepticism. Who was he to make such incredible promises? And, yet we are here today because people like us were moved by the grace of God to draw closer to Him and watch and listen.
Another thought that crossed my mind about these readings is that it is God who makes the offer to Abram, the Jews, the Gentiles, and us. At times, we go in the reverse direction, seeking to make a deal with God. I think it begins as children when we tell God that if He gives us a new bike or that if we make the soccer team, we’ll pray every day, not smack our younger brother, and be an overall good kid.
The terms change as we get older, but at times, we fall into the same bargaining with God. However, the reality is that our proposals, no matter how sincere, are nothing compared with what God offers us both in what we receive and how we grow in the process of following His ways.
Making a Good Investment
The other day my Dad was telling me about living in New York City in the late 1950’s and how some of his friends bought lifetime gym memberships only to have the gyms go out of business in a year or two. His friends made a significant investment and expected the yield to pay off for many years to come—but it didn’t.
My brothers and sisters, each of us has a choice (from day to day) whether we continue to invest our trust in God’s incredible deal for our families and for us with how we live our lives. Today and every day, Jesus asks if we will keep His Word by how we speak and act, even when the world seems to be offering an alternative, something so easy to do. The choice is ours.
May God bless you and your families as we realize the incredible offer that God has made to us—eternal life that lives within us—even while we are on the way. Now, that’s an offer that’s just too good to pass up!
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