By Kent Reynolds , D . Min .

The Land

“ All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever .” Genesis 13:15

The land : soil and rocks , minerals and water . The land : plants , flowers , trees , and all manner of fruit and vegetables . The land : bugs and birds , animals of every kind . The land : a clearly defined geographic location . The land that was promised to Abraham and his descendants was no figurative place . It was not a disembodied spiritual realm in an unknown and unseen location . It was real land with real dirt , rocks , hills , valleys , and streams . It was real land in a specific location that you can identify on a map . This “ promised land ” has not been transposed into some mystical spiritual reality nor has the promise itself been transferred or annulled . world : He is a vast and limitless as the outer reaches of space ; He is as breathtakingly intricate as the inner workings of the atom . As our advances in physics progress , we are now beginning to understand that there may be a sub-atomic force , a particle / wave vibration which unites all things . Who knows what that might mean .

The point is this : while faith may be the evidence of things unseen , the work of God is rooted in reality . It is manifest in real concrete ways that changes lives and shapes the course of human history . The power of God is not relegated to spiritualized concepts and ideas – it becomes flesh and blood .

The Incarnation

“ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us .” John 1:14 indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt . I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers , and I am concerned about their suffering . So I have come down to rescue them .” Exodus 3:7-8 .

The work of God is rooted in reality . It is not relegated to ideas , precepts and theological theories . Walking with God is not a cerebral exercise but involves our entire being : body , mind , soul , and spirit . In the same way that God ’ s promise to Abraham was intricately bound to the reality of the land , so , too , are all of God ’ s promises : they must eventually be seen in real ways – in the manifest work of God in and around us , in how we live , how we shape our priorities , how we form our aspirations , how we handle our money , how we relate with others , how we do our work , and how we raise our families .