The Lord appeared to Abraham one day and gave
him an incredible command: “Go forth from your country, and from your father’s
house, To the land which I will show you” (Gen. 12:1). What would you say, if God said that to you?
What an amazing experience! Suddenly, God picked out a man and told him.
“I want you to get up and go, leaving everything behind: your home, your
relatives, even your country. I want to
send you someplace and I will direct you how to get there along the way.”
And even more amazing is -“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he
should after receive for an inheritance obeyed; and he went out, not knowing
whither he went” (Heb. 11:8).
What was God up to? Why would He search the nations for one man,
and then call him to forsake everything and go on a journey with no map, no
pre-conceived direction, no known destination?
Think about what God was asking of Abraham. He never showed him how he would feed or
support his family, nor did He tell him how far to go or when he would
arrive.
He said: “Go, and “I will show you the way.” Is that not an incredible story? In essence He said:
“From this day
on, I want you to give me all your tomorrows.
You are to live the rest of your life putting your future into my hands,
one day at a time. I’m asking you to
commit your life to a promise that I am making to you, Abraham. If you will commit to do this, I will bless
you, guide you, and lead you to a place your never imagined”.
The place where God wanted to
lead Abraham is a place he wants to take every member of Christ’s body. Abraham is what Bible scholars call a “Pattern
Man,” ie., someone who serves as an
example of how to walk before the Lord.
And Abraham’s example shows us what is required of all who would seek to
please God.
Make
no mistake, Abraham was not a young man when God called him to make this commitment. He was already married and Moses said age 75 when he left Harran (Gen 12:4), He
probably had plans in place to one day turn the sheep and goats over to the
kids and join the elders at the town square.
Was
it an easy decision? I think not. He had to be concerned over many
considerations as he weighed God’s call.
It would mean separating his family, from their relatives and friends,
and having to trust God completely to provide for them all. Yet Abraham, “…believed in the Lord; and (God) counted it to him for righteousness”
(Gen 15:6).
The apostle Paul tells us
that all who believe and trust in Christ are the children of Abraham. In short, we’re a people who please God by
trusting him. And like Abraham, we are
counted as righteous because we heed the same call to entrust all our tomorrows
into the Lord’s hands.
Jesus also calls us to this way of living:
giving no thought about tomorrow and putting our future into his hands.
I love the story of Abraham
because I can identify with him. God
said to the Hainley family of Concord, California, “Sell your house, all of your possessions, quit your jobs, and move to
Michigan where I have a work for you.”
Even though He had send a young man into my life that placed a
compulsion in my heart to do something to reach out the hurting children and
families, making a move that that magnitude with four little ones required an
“act of the will”.
When I asked “Why, Lord, did
you choose me, His answer was “because you were obedient”. The marines have an advertisement: “We need a
few good men”. Are you a good man or
woman? Jesus said, “Come and I will make
you a fisher of men!” (Mark 4:19).
Blessings,
Gramps
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