Father Abraham

I grew up in the church going to Sunday School and my share of VBS's. During this time in my childhood, I learned a song called 'Father Abraham'. It went like this:

Father Abraham had many sons; many sons had father Abraham
And I am one of them, and so are you
So let's all praise the Lord
(and then you'd continue to sing this verse adding in different body movements until you looked like you were having a seizure)

But the story of Abraham now has new meaning for me. This past Sunday evening at about 10:15pm I finally arrived in Springfield, Il to plant a new church called Delta (greek meaning "change"). My family and I packed up our belongings, left Michigan, and are without some minor things like health insurance, a home, or a paying job. All we're really going on is that God has called us to the city of Springfield to reach people who are far from God, disallusioned with His church, and be an instrument of change for the city.

Here's what we know about Abraham: when we first meet him, his name is Abram; he grew up in a place called Ur of the Chaldeans (a stone's throw from Babylon); his dad, Terah, worshipped false gods (Joshua 24:2) so Abram grew up that way as well; he had a lot of cash; and, he had a propencity for lying. So, he doesn't sound like the greatest guy in the world, but what we see over and over again in scripture is God taking screwed up, pagan, loser people and making them a missionary, which is exactly what he did with Abram.

Genesis 12:1 says: "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." God worked as a missionary by going to this pagan guy called Abram, revealing Himself to him, and brought Abram into relationship with Him. He told Abram to leave everything that he knew behind to go and build a nation for God. God asked the incredible, and got an incredible response:

Genesis 12:4: "So Abram went, as the Lord had told him." Simple obedience to the God of the Universe.

When God says go, you go. Things like houses selling, health insurance, and jobs are important things, but in light of God asking you (and me) to do something, they really aren't that important. Our obedience is the important thing.

Jesus perfectly embodies this as well. The Father sent him to seek and save those who were lost. Jesus then sent his disciples into the world to seek the lost and point them toward a saving relationship with Jesus. We also are to go into our world to seek the lost and point them to Jesus.

So this devotional isn't just about me and my family going to Springfield and build a church. This is about all of us. If you're reading this and not a Christ-follower, God may be calling you into a relationship with him just like he did with Abram. If God truly is calling you, you must respond because he will not stop pursuing you. If you're reading this and you are a Christ-follower, are you living out your calling as a missionary to your world? Are you engaging lost people with the living Gospel? Are you showing kindness and hospitality? Do you serve people? Do you take advantage of opportunities to talk about Jesus?

Abram became Abraham, founded the nation of Israel, and through his faith in God, has spiritual descendants that outnumber the stars in the sky and the grains of sand by the seashore (Hebrews 11). It is Abraham's example that I am following, and that you are also called to follow. It begins with obedience, continues through faith, and will find its fruition through changed lives of people and crowns to lay down at Jesus' feet.

Grace and peace,

Ryan