"The Lord said to Abram: leave your country, your family, and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you... he obeyed and left..." (Genesis 12:1,5a)
Reading: Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
Just imagine: leaving everything behind you that you know; to journey toward a place you have no idea what or where... taking with you your loved ones who probably are seeking from you, some kind of guarantee of security and stability... and all you can say is- "because the Lord said so." Have you ever followed someone's direction when that very direction advised by this someone requires you to sacrifice everything and take a big risk with no guarantee other than that person's word?
If there is any lesson Abraham's life (Abram) teaches us it is this: the only way to experience intimacy with the supernatural and experience the supernatural deeply is to make an unconditional decision to trust. This kind of trusting requires us to surrender all that we are. It calls us to respond in complete vulnerability, risk, and authenticity... to say yes to the supernatural presence. What this kind of faith does is build and nurture an intimacy that is completely supernatural and spiritual. It gives us what we are all looking for: a complete and whole life... where someone beyond becomes an intricate part of our lives and we become an intricate part of that someone beyond ourselves.
This is the same kind of trusting and believing that builds relationships... a lasting marriage... a strong friendship... a solid community. Biblical scholars and theologians have a word for this. They call it- a saving faith.
"Jesus I want this to be my story... my song. I desire and seek to trust you Lord beyond reason... beyond conditions... beyond my own self interests. Let me be close to you and you close to me. Jesus that is all I ask."
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