It's Personal

The Lord appeared to him the same night

and said,

“I am the God of your father Abraham;

Do not fear, for I am with you.

I will bless you,

and multiply your descendants,

for the sake of My servant Abraham.”

So he built an altar there

and called upon the name of the Lord.

Genesis 26:24–25

In Genesis 26:2 we have the first recording of the Lord appearing and speaking directly to Isaac. God himself passes on the Abrahamic Covenant to Isaac. This covenant is an unconditional covenant. It is not man’s to earn, man’s to pass on, nor is it man’s to lose. God himself is the guarantor of this covenant. God also lets Isaac know that the fullness of this blessing is being passed on to him because of the obedience of his father, Abraham.

In this section of Scripture we see how God honors obedience, even to the point of honoring our children and our children’s children. Have you ever considered the impact that your present obedience is going to have on the future, especially the future of those who watch you and walk with you in your everyday life?

It is through God that all blessings flow. Isaac had been living in the blessings of the God of his father. However, Isaac still needed to call upon the name of the Lord and for himself receive the greatest blessing of all; the turning of his heart from his own wicked ways (Acts 3:25–26).

Romans 10:13 declares, “for whoever will call on the name of the Lord-will be saved.” Paul is quoting Joel 2:32, a prophet in the Old Testament Scriptures. The way of salvation has never changed.

From the beginning, all the way back to the salvation of Adam and Eve, only those who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Salvation is an individual experience. I cannot save my children. I cannot force them to call upon the name of the Lord. I can show them the way, but I cannot make them walk in it. This decision is one they must make alone with God.

Isaac had been living in the blessings of God given to his father Abraham, just as our children live in the blessings that God has given us. We may be able to pass on the physical blessings of God to our children (material things, relationships, stories), but we cannot pass on the greatest blessing of all, the turning of their hearts from their own wicked ways.

Our children and those around us—and maybe even we ourselves—might be presently living in the blessings of another’s obedience, but the blessing of eternal salvation is personal.

We can be living in the midst of a godly home, or we can be members of a Spirit-filled church and be covered in the love of its members and feel great every time we walk out the doors from the experience, but this does not save us.

We can experience the Holy Spirit of God, but experiencing Him does not save us. We must humble ourselves before Him and call upon the name above all names, the name by which all men may be saved, the name of Jesus (Acts 4:12).

Our parents’ obedience can’t save us, and neither can our obedience save our children. Individually we must walk in obedience to His Word, receiving His offer of salvation by faith.

As Abraham was able to set the example for his son, for his nation, for the world, so we are able to set the example to those around us. Through our obedience we show those around us that God’s Word is true, but we can only be saved through our own personal obedience from the heart to the things we have been taught. We each must individually stand in the gospel of God.

Do you stand in the gospel of God (Romans 1:1–6)?

Have you become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were committed (Romans 6:17)?

Oh Father,

I desire no blessing more than I desire the blessing of belonging to You. I will seek to know You more and strive to be as close to You as I possibly can while in this body of flesh. My Jesus, fill me; may Your Holy Spirit consume me. Oh Father, I am a stranger in this land, an alien on this earth. The kingdom I belong to is not of this realm (John 9:36). Yet while I am here, may I be an accurate ambassador for the kingdom of Christ. Oh Father, might I live this life in obedience to You, not just for my own sake, but for the sake of my children and all who are watching me. May I be set apart through my obedience to Your truth so that others may be able to trust in my word and believe in Christ for salvation (John 17:19–20).

My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,

Amen.