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by Nathan Buck

Yep, I am taking a jab at the sensationalized titles used on the internet to get you to watch viral videos.  Hang in there, the title actually does have meaning beyond the “hook.”  In the Bible, Abraham is the guy who is considered the father of the Jewish faith, and the example for Jews and Christians alike for what it means to believe God and trust Him with your life.  He is not celebrated because he lived a perfect life; in fact he made MANY mistakes and even rebellious decisions at times.  Abraham believed God’s promise in a way that he took action and re-directed his life – that is what the Bible defines as faith.  When he had faith in God, Abraham was “credited as” or considered righteous or in right standing before God.  This was not because he lived perfectly first, but because he first believed and then adjusted the way he lived.

Look at Romans 4:1-17.  In this passage Paul unpacks this moment of faith for Abraham.  Take a moment to read through it, and then I want to call out a couple of key points. Consider these summaries of the verses listed next to them:
-  Abraham didn’t earn his righteousness; he didn’t “deserve” it because of his value or his work. (verses 4-8)
-  God didn’t offer righteousness to Abraham because of some physical things he had already done (circumcision, good deeds, religious actions, etc). (verses 9-10)
-  Abraham is the example of faith, and faith is how we accept God’s promises; we cannot earn them. (verse 11)
-  Since faith is how God’s promises are accepted, anyone can access the promise anytime. (verses 12-16)

Relationship with God comes by grace through faith.  Grace is the vehicle God uses to offer it to everyone, and because God offers relationship graciously to everyone, no one is excluded from that offer for any reason.  Let me say that again – no one is excluded from the offer of relationship with God for any reason.  Everyone has equal opportunity to come to know God and to participate in His promise of life and life to the fullest.  The only way we are exempted from right standing before God is by our own choice to not have faith. No one can boast about how they “earned” it by living perfectly.  We can only humbly accept it by trusting God, believing Him, and adjusting our lives to live out His teachings.

Let me ask you a simple question this week – what or who have you believed? Are you listening to the voices of those who have called you names or ridiculed your life?  Are you listening to the self-doubt and fear inside your own thoughts?  Do you believe that you are worthless?  Do you believe you “deserve” things?  Maybe you have believed that you have to get everything messy in your life straightened out in order for God to accept you.  Or maybe you believe God will rescue you, even if you never change the self-focused, self-protective way you are living. Perhaps you are listening to hyper-religious people (even “Christians”) who have side tracked you with all kinds of religious worship rituals, arrogant prosperity assumptions, ungracious judgments, or paranoid demonic delusions.  Maybe you believe God doesn’t exist.  Maybe you are deafened by the pain or loss that made you doubt that God could be real.

Wherever you are on your journey – look at Abraham’s story in context. He was living his life, satisfied and comfortable, and wasn’t looking for God.  There was nothing about how Abraham lived that earned him the right to be chosen.  The promise God offered would require him to leave his country, leave his extended family, and disconnect from everything that made him comfortable in the land of Ur of the Chaldeans.  And when he encountered God, there was nothing special about Abraham that caused him to realize this was God Almighty – he could have just as easily dismissed the opportunity as you or I could.  The only reason we know Abraham is because God chose him, and he listened to God.

God wants that same kind of relationship with each one of us, and He chose all of us to be a part of His promise of life – full life, here and after we die.  We get to benefit from Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, and get to have relationship with God – the fullness of our design interwoven with other people and empowered by God’s Spirit.  It’s awesome to share that sense of life and purpose with others, and see the amazing power and presence of God working through people who, because of the grade from God, have decided to live by faith with GOD.

Is it time to get beyond the lies, doubts, fears, bad examples, pain, trauma, desires, and selfishness to let the Truth of God’s love touch your heart? The offer is extended to you… will you have faith?

For more of Abraham’s example of faith, be sure to read my blog post next week.