The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. Genesis 12.1-4
Basically, the story begins here. Before God called Abram, the universe was created, sin and death entered the world, and there was a huge flood. But the real story starts here – the story of God’s search for and salvation of His people. Interestingly, it begins with the call to get up and go.
Not that many human beings are interested in movement. Most of us want to find our place, our niche, and get settled in and set for life. This whole call to movement leaves a lot to be desired. There is no destination, no goal just the promise of blessing, no security save the promise to curse his enemies, and no purpose except to bless others. There is a reason Paul held Abram up as an example of faith. Abram got up and went.
Think of all the excuses Abram could have made: his age, his lands, his family, his people…. He was trading a lot of known for an awful lot of unknown, but he went. As the passage continues, we find Abram taking not only his nephew, but his herds, tents and just about everything else that wasn’t nailed down. Abram was willing to get up and go into the unknown, but he took as much security and safety with him as he possibly could manage. God didn’t comment on Abram’s packing; He knows we are fearful creatures.
The call of God is always a call to movement. If we were in such a great place to begin with, God wouldn’t be coming to find us. God’s invitation is to follow Him to life, but as creatures of death, we do not know what life really looks like. We want safety above all else; we want to be able to control our environment and our destiny. Wandering off into mysterious and unfamiliar territory at the call of a faceless Voice speaking to our hearts is not the way most of us plan for the future. And that is tragedy.
Abram traveled to foreign lands and met kings and rulers. He saw and did things his contemporaries never even imagined. Millennia later, Abram is the most famous man from that time period. His offspring certainly are too numerous to count; he is the father of three faiths: Judaism, Islam and Christianity. None of that Abram could have guessed when he left Haran. More importantly, Abram walked with God. He learned from God; God gave him direction, and he was protected by God throughout his life.
The invitation is the same to each of us. “Come, walk with Me.” Christianity is the story of the journey, about God’s people walking with Him, hearing His voice, following His direction and being shown our place in His Kingdom, even now. When most of us hear the call of God to move, we fear where we are going. The reality is that when we walk with God, He is leading us from death to life.
When we get up and go with the Lord, the journey lasts the entirety of our lives. There is no moment of arrival. There are occasions for rest, but the journey continues on. The Spirit of God continually draws us onward and forward, to know God better, to break deep sin in our lives, to set us free, and to give us life. We are blessed in order to be a blessing.
Is there movement in your life? Not just restless movement, but do you know God better this year than last? Can you recognize His voice through the thieves and robbers, calling you to follow Him? Are you more alive and free than you were a year ago?
The story began with Abram; God began His search for and salvation of His people. He has called each one of us to get up and go from the safety and certainty of death to walk with Him into the wild and glorious unknown of life. Do you hear His invitation, “Come, walk with Me”? In Christ we are always moving from the known to the unknown, from security to abundance, and from death to life.
Join the story that began with Abram. Get up and go.
In Christ –
Elizabeth Moreau
Ó 2007 Servants’ Feast Ministry
Comments