January 18 - Genesis 12:2

By faith Abraham obeyed

when he was called to set out for a place

that he was to receive as an inheritance;

and he set out, not knowing where he was going.

Hebrews 11:8

[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. Genesis 12:2]

 

The call of Abraham is described powerfully in two places -- in Genesis 12 and Hebrews 11.

 

Combining the two, here's a few things we might like to know about a God-honoring life ...

• It is trust-centered -- Abraham trusted in the spiritual rather than the physical. "Not knowing where he was going," means that rather than needing a physical map, he trusted in God to be his compass and map.
• It is faith-driven -- Hebrews 11 tells us a half dozen things that Abraham did simply and totally by faith, including "9 living in tents [but] 10 look[ing] forward to the city ... whose architect and builder is God."
• It is future-focused -- Most of us demand a little immediate gratification. Abraham patiently waited (and patiently traveled) simply because of the promise of some future inheritance.
• It is Father-centric -- Abraham left his earthly father's house to follow his Heavenly Father.
• It is blessing-based -- God told Abraham that his faithfulness would lead to blessings. But my favorite part of this is that the blessings were not just to be for Abraham. He was blessed to be a blessing for others. What if we all accepted that as our call -- to turn every blessing around and shine our blessings forth as even richer blessings for others.

 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who got his wife a TomTom for Christmas

(now, like Abraham, we don't rely on physical maps,

rather we have the voice of a 90-year-old

Hungarian Grandmother telling us where to go.)