“Oh great, another article about how great Abraham’s faith is. Haven’t seen that before.”
If you’re thinking that right now, I hear you. There are umpteen articles about Abraham’s faith, and for good reason. He’s called the “father of faith” (Romans 4:16), and Hebrews 11 uses him as a model for faith.
Throughout Scripture, Abraham is held up as an example of what faith looks like.
I think the reason that Abraham’s faith is so lauded is because it’s not just theoretical — it’s extremely practical.
It’s so real that it almost seems impossible to match. Just think about all he did to demonstrate faith in God.
He Left His Homeland
Last month, I took my family on a road trip to Colorado. It took nearly 17 hours each way from our home base in Dallas, and faced several obstacles along the way.
You know what we had to make it easier though?
A GPS (on our phone). Music/audiobooks to alleviate the drive. A car that could go 70+ MPH. Paved roads. Snacks. Youtube so we could get a visual on the towns we would be passing through.
We also had a four-year-old who asked some of the most insightful questions known to man, but that’s beside the point.
Abraham had none of that (except maybe the four-year-old). He left a place he knew really well to go to a place he had never been at all.
He didn’t even know where he was going — just that God would show him the land eventually. I can’t even fathom that type of uncertainty.
He Waited for His Son
Abraham sometimes gets a bad reputation because he fathered Ishmael in a misguided attempt to “help God.”
I agree with that assessment. He definitely should not have done that.
But consider the fact that from the time of the promise of a son to the time of Ishmael could have been upwards of 30 years. That’s a long time to wait for a promise.
When was the last time you prayed for something and it took a week? A month? A year?
Can you imagine waiting 30 years to see the fulfillment of a promise? I doubt I could, at least not without some serious distractions.
The Faith of Abraham
There are no shortage of sermons and classes and books and blogs that talk about Abraham’s faith, but consider those two as you think about his faith in particular.
We shouldn’t just pay lip service to what he went through. The faith of Abraham was real — and we would do well to honor it.