“The Lord had said to Abram . . . I will make of you a great nation . . .” (Genesis 12:1.2)

You know how the story goes.  

Abram’s name was changed to Abraham, which means father of many nations.  

In some ways, it could have been embarrassing to Abraham. Every time he met someone new, which may not have been often, he would say, “Hi, I’m Father of Many Nations.” And the one to whom he was introducing himself probably responded, “Wow. How many children do you have?” And Abraham would have to say, “Well, one.”

Such a great promise was given to Abram. He would be the father of a great nation. He would own land. And his descendants would be as innumerable as the stars.

And when he died, he had one son (Isaac), and owned a small plot of land around an oak tree.

Anyone who looked at Abraham’s life and heard about the promise by which he lived would probably have laughed.  

Many nations? He had one son.  

Land? An oak tree.  

A blessing to the nations? A seeming blip upon the radar of history.

And yet we know the rest of the story. God blessed Abraham immeasurably more than what it appeared.

And isn’t that the way God works in our lives? From the outside, we don’t look like we’re all that special. We don’t appear to be the kind of people through whom the Kingdom is moved forward. And yet we are. Because God does immeasurably more through us, no matter how few trees we may own.

Sometimes it may seem like a capital campaign for your church doesn’t appear all that special. Asking for money? How can the Kingdom move forward by doing that? And yet, when God reveals a vision for ministry, when God leads His children (children of Abraham) to respond with sacrificial gifts, when the potential for gospel impact is expanded the results, here too, are immeasurable.