Sunday, August 18, 2024

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One of the most well known Biblical stories is the story of Abraham. It is a long story.  It takes thirteen chapters to tell and spans one hundred years.  (Genesis 12:1,  25:8)  From Ur to Egypt and back to the land of promise he goes before being buried in a cave he purchased from the Hittites.  His wife was named Sarah and he fathered a number of children; however,  Isaac and Ishmael were the two who buried him.  Many things could have been written in his obituary, but the writer of Hebrews did it best. (Hebrews 11:1-8)    

It is true that Abraham had a rather extensive geographic journey, but the journey which really counted and the one for which he is remembered is his journey of faith.  Genesis 12:1 remembers the Word the Lord said to Abram, as he was known in the beginning, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you."  Hebrews 8:8 speaks of the beginning of Abraham's journey with the words, "By faith Abraham obeyed...and he sat out, not knowing where he was going..."  As we see the story of Abraham unfolding, we see the spiritual prototype of all those who love God and seek to respond to the invitation of Jesus, "Follow me."  (John1:43)  

What seemed true for all of us in the beginning of our faith journey is never true.  In the beginning we have some notion that we know where the call of Christ is going to take us.  We start out thinking we have some notion about what to expect.  The truth is that those who hear the call of Christ to go accept a call to go to a land, or a place, or a life which might be called "Know not where" for in the beginning, we are like Abraham in that we really have no idea where heeding the call of Christ is going to take us.  To see the life of Abraham is to see what it looks like when we cast aside everything and walk where God through Christ leads us.

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