Journey to Jerusalem Day 12

Sunday, March 8 Genesis 12:1-3
1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

We all want the good life, don’t we? But is the good life always God’s best life for us? Maybe not.
Abram was living the good life. He was rich, settled, and content. Then God said, “Go.”
Now, scripture doesn’t reveal Abram’s initial response. But one doubts that Abram jumped at the opportunity to have his good life disrupted for something unknown. “Blessed to be a blessing,” God said. What does that mean? But God said “Go” and, ultimately, “Abram went, as the Lord had told him...” (Genesis 12:4).
There is a word for this: faith. In Hebrews, we read, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Abram had high hopes and he was convinced that God would keep his promise, vague though it was.
We don’t have room to discuss Abram’s life with all its ups and downs. To say the least, God’s best life for Abram was not easy. There were dangers, hardships, and sacrifice. But God kept his promise. Eventually he gave Abram the thing he wanted most in life, a son. Moreover, many generations later, Jesus was born. The whole world has been blessed because of Abram’s obedient faith.
Here is something to consider. God is the God of history. He works today in ways that impact future generations. If you are a Christian, chances are it is thanks to someone who came before.
Which raises the stakes of obedience, doesn’t it? Perhaps obedience is about more than you. Maybe God calls us out of our comfort zones, as he did Abram, to bless our children or their children or their children or other people more than to bless us.

Faithful obedience. Maybe that is the good life after all.
Give us courage, O God, always to respond to you in faith. Amen.