When I think of examples of faith in the Bible, the first name that comes to my mind is Abraham. Paul uses Abraham as an example of faith in Romans. Abraham also appears in Hebrews 11, that chapter some have designated "the faith hall of fame."
Genesis 12 gives us a good example of what faith is all about. In Genesis 12, Abraham (still Abram here) is called to leave "his country, his people, and his father's household." Note how each phrase of that quote gets more specific and personal. Abraham is leaving his nation behind, then his ethnic group, then his own family. In the ancient world that was a dangerous thing to do. There were no police forces in Abraham time. There was no unemployment insurance or Social Security for retirement. How did one stay safe in a dangerous world? How was one prepared for calamitous times? One stayed close to home. Following God's directive entailed a high degree of risk.
Accepting this risk would have been hard for Abraham as he did not know where he was going. The Lord tells Abraham to go to the "land I will show you." Abraham was not provided with travel brochures. He was not told what the features of the land would be or even if it was a decent place to live. He was just told to go. And not knowing where he was going, Abraham went.
Of course, when Abraham arrived, he found that the land was not exactly empty. There were powerful people there who were not ready to be dispossessed from their land. Their culture was pagan; their societies ungodly. Abraham had to realize that he and his family might have to endure a long time before they saw God's promise fulfilled.
Abraham's story tells us what faith is all about. Faith is taking risk at God's directive. It is moving forward with God when one doesn't always know the outcome. It is continuing to trust the promises of God and obey even when there are problems.
Chapter 12 calls me (and all who read it) to ask, "Where am I exercising faith?" I like to talk about being a person of faith, but where am I being faithful like Abraham? Where am I taking risks for God at His command? Where am I moving forward, trusting God for the outcome? Where am I being faithful even with problems?
As I read Genesis 12, I have admiration for Abraham. I also wonder how he was able to do it. How could he trust God so dramatically? I think the answer is in verses 2-3. There, the Lord gives some great promises to Abraham. And he trusted those promises. This is a reminder of what ultimately faith is all about. Faith is not ultimately about belief in a system or doctrine or a creed. It is about belief in God as revealed in His Son Jesus. Our faith is not in a religion. It is in a personal God. That is why Abraham could do what he did: he trusted and loved a personal God believing that he would keep all of His promises.
I hope all of us listen for God's call to us. And when we hear it, I hope we respond like Abram.
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