25 Jul Abraham – Our Father in Faith
Abraham is both remarkable and ordinary.
The Ordinary Abraham
Abraham was just one man, with a barren wife, who lived in ancient times surrounded by idol worshippers in Mesopotamia. He lived in tents, had sheep and goats, had some servants, and otherwise lived an unremarkable existence. He didn’t build any grand city, or invent any amazing technology. He wandered around the desert and lived a life not many of us would wish to swap for. But God chooses ordinary things to do the remarkable.
The Remarkable Abraham
Abraham had an entourage which God blessed, and this included hundreds of fighting men. He was a village within himself. When his nephew lot also grew from the blessing of God, they needed to separate. The land was not enough for them. Abraham allowed his nephew to choose first, and he naturally chose the bigger piece of cake, he chose the fertile plain of the Jordan.
Lot chose with his eyes. Lot chose what he could see and what appeared the best selection. But Lot also chose to be in the region of Sodom and Gomorrah and there were unintended consequences that came with that choice. But Abraham in taking the lesser portion, the Negev, the dry land, found he had in fact received what was best.
At some point after this separating, the Lord appeared to Abram in a vision (Genesis 15:1) and said, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I am your shield and your great reward.”
What is remarkable is that Abraham saw the Lord as his reward, and did not have to fight for himself to get what was best. This is true faith, and in fact is genuine trust at work. Abraham didn’t have to see with earthly vision how a good thing would work out for him, but having the Lord with him, was sufficient reward, and in fact was everything.
We find out later that Lot came to total ruin, while Abraham is the Father in faith to all of us who believe. What a remarkable outcome.