Abraham, Henry and Steve

The last two times I have set foot in a Centre Street service (both Sunday and Wednesday), the pastor has spoken about the life of Abraham. Here are some neat things gleaned from those messages and from my own reading of the story.

• It would seem that God's selection of Abraham was fairly arbitrary. The Call of Abram in Genesis 12 simply starts out with God telling Abram (later called Abraham) to leave his country and go to a place that God would tell him about later. At that point, all we know about the man is some basic family relationships.
  
  Unlike Noah, who was chosen by God to man the ark on account of his righteousness (Genesis 6:9), Abram was just chosen and no reason is given. In fact, we see on a number of occasions that Abram wasn't righteous. He lied to the Egyptians about his wife Sarai; he slept with Haggar, etc.
  
  So why did God pick Abram to bless all nations? The only reason I can come up with is because He can. God has that sovereign right.
  
  The good news is that, as believers, He has chosen to bless us! It truly does not matter what state God finds us in; he wants to bless us. God's ways are higher than ours and they don't always make sense in the moment. However, His ways are good and He knows what He's doing. We can trust that what He chooses is the very best, when it is all said and done.
  
  
• Pastor Steve made a very interesting observation about the location of Isaac's near sacrifice and Christ's ultimate sacrifice. If you compare Genesis 22:2:
  

  Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."

  with 2 Chronicles 3:1:
  

  Then Solomon began to build the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah,

  you can see that the site where Abraham nearly sacrificed Isaac was later to be Jerusalem, the site where Christ was sacrificed on the cross hundreds of years later. In both instances, God provided the lamb. Also, as Abraham demonstrated that he feared God by not withholding even his one and only son (Genesis 22:12), God has demonstrated His love for us for giving us His only son (John 3:16).
  
  
• Moving back a little now, when God called Abram, He didn't tell Abram all the steps that he needed to take along the entire path. He just said "Leave your country, I will tell you the details later" (Genesis 12:1, paraphrased). That's a real tough one for me. I love having a plan. Typically, I have my schedule laid out down to the hour for the next 2 or 3 days. But, when God called Abram, He just said go.
  
  A plan is always a good idea and being intentional about life is really important. But, there will always be adjustments to that plan and our intentions don't always result in fruit. God tends to show us only far enough ahead so that we can take the next step. I think He does it that was so that we will cling all the more tightly to Him. That is so tough. That takes a lot of faith.
  
  I'm at a point in my life where I really don't have a specific plan. I have an idea about the big picture (honour God through my career, move towards a Christ-centered marriage, etc.), but like never before, the details escape me so I must press in to the heart of God. It's scary! But, it's an adventure!
  
  
• Last one! A neat point from Pastor Henry's message was about the nature of Abraham's faith. His faith was not perfect: he messed up a number of times. However, Abraham kept pressing on. He persisted in his faith and God "credited it to him as righteousness" (Genesis 15:6).
  
  As believers, our faith in Christ is not perfect. However, if we believe in Christ and persist in that belief, God will give us His righteousness as well (Romans 3:22).
  
  Also, God didn't ask Abram to make the big steps of faith, like sacrificing his son, first. God brought Abram through a series of small steps. First, God asks him to leave his country, but take all your things with you, then God promises a son, then God asks him to sacrifice his son. Faith is kind of like a muscle. You have to exercise it for it to become strong.