Abraham of the Diaspora: The Mission of God with People on the Move

by Robert Rasmussen

We live in one of the most mobile eras in history. The global diaspora is going to continue, bringing threats like conflict and pandemic, as well as opportunities to learn, share ideas, and build friendships. We who follow Jesus would be wise to investigate God’s purposes for today in this amazing shuffling of peoples and their beliefs. There is a bevy of insight in looking back in time to a bedouin herder who wandered with his caravan of tents for his entire life. Yet for his humble lifestyle, he is still revered by adherents of three world religions. By looking at the journeys in the life and faith of Abraham, we see ways in which God deals with people in temporary locations. We will peer into the world in which Abram was born, and see the reliability of the oral tradition which he would have heard. We will see that Abram would have been aware of the existing covenants which God had previously made with humankind, and how honored he would have been to receive a covenant from God personally. As a migrant, Abram will illustrate the importance of establishing memorials of important events in life. And we will see how God is able to speak directly to people in diaspora, a reality we long to see today in diaspora ministry. We will note that the “push-pull” factors in migration today were also at work in Abram’s journeys. In the half-truth which Abram told about his wife, we will be reminded of the complications and compromises of migrating to a new culture. In Abram’s dealings with his nephew Lot, we will sympathize with the challenge of family needs and expectations in diaspora. In Abram’s encounter with the city of Sodom, we will note the culture shock of differing moral standards as migrants move from place to place. These, and many other insights will be ours as we look at the pilgrimage of Abraham through the lens of diaspora ministry. In so doing we can be compelled to join God, in hopes that we might see Him in our own pilgrimages, and in faith that we might be privileged to make a friend with a modern-day Abraham. The story of Abraham is still being written. With the same faith in God’s promise, you and I can become a part of God’s redeeming for Himself a people. We can be a blessing to every nation on earth. In fact, this is the calling of every follower of Jesus. God has been bringing to your town people from far away, who otherwise may not have heard of the God who came to us in human form, to seek us out and save us for Himself. This is a time of incredible opportunity. Abram’s new name, Abraham, brought a new destiny. It reminded him of the promise. You and I are recipients of Abraham’s faithfulness, passed down to us through generations of fragile and often failing people. Now, during our short pilgrimage on earth, we have the chance to live out our new destiny

46 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 27, 2021