The Call of Abram

DAILY READING

Genesis 12:1-9

REFLECTION

God Calls The Unworthy

by Pastor Jeff Morlock

We spend so much of our lives trying to measure up, to be worthy in the eyes of God and others. Yet the Lord chooses that which the world deems unlikely.

God called Abram to be the father of the covenant, the one through whose line the messiah would come to bring salvation to the world. We might expect God to pick a strong young man for this privilege, one with impeccable credentials, integrity, and devotion to the Lord. But Joshua 24:2 describes Abram and his ancestors as idol worshipers. That’s strike one. Abram is also way past his prime in terms of age. That’s strike two. And this elderly idolator’s wife, Sarai, is unable to bear children. If you’re counting, that’s strike three.

Martin Luther said that God loves to create from nothing, as he did in the beginning. So he starts here with three strikes and the odds stacked against him. Making promises to Abram, the Lord bids him leave everything behind (all past influences), including his country, his extended family, and his religion. He is to start over in a land that God will show him. Incredibly, Abram obediently responds in faith! We can at least give him credit for that, right? For having faith?

Well, yes. And no. A person might have faith in this thing or that idea, but saving faith in God and God’s promise is not something we can muster up on our own. By nature we are prone to rebel against God, not trust in him. Consequently, like God’s promises themselves, the ability to receive them and act on them (faith) is also a gift!

God chooses unlikely people like Abram and you and me, not because of our resumes, but in spite of them. God qualifies the unqualified, “faiths” the faithless, and “worthies” the unworthy. He comes to us hidden in ordinary people and things, like a baby lying in a manger, a condemned man dying on a cross, or elements of water, bread, and wine. Through these, he delivers to you what he promised. Forgiveness. Salvation. Worth. And new life in Jesus, the Promised One.
 
In what ways have you been striving to earn a gift that is already yours? In what ways have you sought worth by comparing yourself to others, resulting in either unrealistic pride or shame? Spend some time in prayer repenting of these things and thanking God for choosing you in love to be his precious child. 

PRAYER PRACTICE

Prayer Journal – To begin your daily worship today, grab a pen and paper and write out a prayer to God. Give thanks to God for all that He gives. And then your supplication by presenting your prayer requests to God. When you are done, tuck this away somewhere (so you can read it later and see how God has answered your prayers) and then move into hearing from God through His Word.

God Calls Abram

The story of the tower of Babel gives readers a context for the emergence of nations and tribes. This becomes critical to the salvation story of the Bible, as in Gen. 12 God calls one man, and his descendants to be His people. God makes an incredible promise to this man and places a high demand on Him as well. The fulfillment of the promise that God makes to Abram will ultimately come to pass – not because of Abram’s perfect faithfulness, but because of the work of Jesus, who will come from the line of Abram. In Gen. 12 God is laying the foundation of what He will do to bring hope and salvation to the whole world!

STUDY THE SCRIPTURE

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REFLECTION

God Calls Abram

By Jeff Morlock

Abram means “father” and Abraham “father of many.” That’s key, because Genesis 11 describes the human race as so wicked as to have reached a dead end. One ray of hope is Seth’s family, who alone “called on the name of the Lord” (see Genesis 4). But Abram and his Father, Terah, whose name means “moon”, are the end of the line, in more ways than one.

Their home in Ur of the Chaldeans is the center of lunar worship. And their family, which was to preserve the worship of Yahweh, has become pagan, like their neighbors. Furthermore, Abram’s wife Sarai is barren, which means it’s literally the end of the line spiritually and physically for God’s people…. until the Lord speaks.

God calls Abram away from his clan and away from the worship of created things, which will always let you down, because they can’t deliver what they promise. Note that Abram is unfaithful and idolatrous when God calls him, a reminder for you and me that we’re NOT called by God because we’re qualified. We’re qualified because we’re called! God’s invitation always opens a door to new life and transformation! 

Abram’s family had come halfway to the promised land and then stopped. Now God calls Abram to leave and press on. But, says the Lord, “I won’t tell you where you’re headed.” If you knew ahead of time what God would require of you and exactly what it would entail, then you wouldn’t be answering a call. You’d be staying in charge of your own life. 

Of all God’s promises to Abram, the most important is a son, the seed of a family tree through which Christ Jesus would be born to save all humanity. Jesus is the true and better Abraham. He too, left the comfort of His Father’s home, and by his obedience opened the way to forgiveness and the promised land of the heaven. We who believe are “Abraham’s sons” and heirs of all that God has promised. Like Abraham, we answer God’s call by having faith in what we cannot see. What is God calling you away from today? What is he asking you to leave behind? And what is he calling you toward? Will you remain in what is familiar, but empty - or step out in faith?

Prayer: Father, empower me and all your people to live with the bold, daring faith of Abram. Make us unafraid to call on your name in a culture that does not know you. Guard us from distractions and from the temptation to settle down in comfortable places before we reach the destination to which you call us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

UALC’S CAMPAIGN OF PRAYER - FRIDAY

FAITH - Pray for faith instead of fear, that many would come to faith in Jesus and that we would all trust God more deeply during this time.