Recovering All

Read: Genesis 14:8-20

Abram recovered all the goods that had been taken, and he brought back his nephew Lot with his possessions and all the women and other captives. Genesis 14:16

IN WORD

The church has done a pretty good job of teaching a gospel of redemption. We’ve been bought back and cleansed of sin, set free from captivity. That’s our message. But it isn’t the whole message. Restoration is an essential part of the gospel. God doesn’t just redeem us from the past; He restores what has been lost. History is headed toward a full restoration of everything that has been lost and broken, and we can participate in the process even now. The Kingdom of God is one of repair and restoration.

Abram’s recovery mission is a great picture of the Kingdom spirit. Kings from around the Dead Sea had decided to declare their freedom from foreign powers, and war broke out when the kings of those foreign powers came to reclaim their servant-nations. The invading kings sacked Sodom, Gomorrah, and their allies, taking everything and everyone—including Lot and his family. Abram, who to this point had been very tentative around the rules of Egypt and Canaan, suddenly amassed an army and went after them. And victory wasn’t enough. He pursued the enemy all the way past Damascus and recovered all that had been taken.

IN DEED

That’s the attitude we should have as members of God’s Kingdom. We should never compromise on anything the enemy has taken. No illness, injustice, or deception should slide by uncontested. God has given us the keys of the Kingdom, and everything the enemy steals, kills, or destroys is stolen, killed, or destroyed illegally. Jesus has won, yet His people often continue to act defeated.

Go after the spoils of war. Pray aggressively. Address injustices. Seek the shalom God intended for this world. Bless everyone—including those outside the Kingdom. Remember that the enemy was stripped of power at the Cross. Do everything in your power—and God’s within you—to recover all.

ADDITIONAL READING: 1 Samuel 30

By a Carpenter mankind was made, and only by that Carpenter can mankind be remade.

DESIDERIUS ERASMUS