“Should I hide my plan from Abraham?” the LORD asked. “For Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just. Then I will do for Abraham all that I have promised.” [Genesis 18.17-19]
Remember that Abraham is the "Father of Faith."
Now, consider all that took place in today's OYCB reading...
It was announced that Sarah and Abraham would have a son. It was announced that Sodom would be destroyed. Abraham interceded for any righteous people in Sodom. Lot tried to use his virgin daughters to bargain with sexual perverts to spare his houseguests. Sodom was destroyed. Lot's wife was turned to a pillar of salt. Lot's daughters raped their father. Abraham basically gave Sarah to Abimelech to whom God appeared in a dream to avert him sleeping with her. And finally, Isaac was born.
Say what one will, "faith," coming to us through the Father of Faith, has a messy background. I mean, how can we reconcile the events in today's reading?
If we are all honest, our own faith has a messy background too. Many of us who call ourselves believers have events in our past that may not make for the most wholesome story. But that does not disqualify our faith today. God knows we are a mess, but He draws us to faith and holiness anyway. God is merciful like that.
Speaking of God's mercy, the situation with Lot really only attests to Abraham's love and intercession because Lot's ultimate outcome (through the unconventional actions of his daughters) was to "father" two nations that would become enemies of Israel. It only takes a moment to consider that Abraham's focus on Lot could have been somewhat misplaced as it yielded these two well-documented enemies of Abraham's lineage, the Moabites and the Ammonites. How might Israel's story have been altered had Abraham's discussion with God and the two destroying angels gone differently or not taken place at all?
The "Father of Faith" is significant because of one reason: Jesus. Without faith, it is impossible to receive salvation (John 3.16) and it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11.6). It is not ironic that Jesus demanded faith of all who would follow Him.
Perhaps the unconventional events surrounding the life of Abraham are what preserved the story - the story of a lineage through whom the Messiah was promised and identified. Jesus was not part of that lineage, but was 'pointed to' by it. And this is all that matters then: the Father of Faith points us to the promise of Jesus!
Father, Abraham's story is indeed a mess. But all that mess did not interrupt faith. Help me to consider this when everything around me seems chaotic! May I be found faithful!
No comments:
Post a Comment