“Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.’” (Genesis 12:1-2)
When we look at the story of the Father of the Hebrew race, Abraham, we do not know why God chose him from out of all the people living then to be the father of His people, the ancestor of the Messiah the one who would redeem all mankind. Abram was a descendant of Noah’s son Shem through Terah. He had 2 brothers about whom little is said that would tell us why God chose Abram over them. It is sufficient to say that God chose Abram for his own reasons, in mercy and love, according to His providential plan, in the same way He chooses us to be His children.
Abram was not a noteworthy or remarkable man when God called him. He was a small time shepherd living in the big city of Ur down in the lower reaches of the Tigris and Euphrates river basin, a very fertile region where the living was easy. But God called him to leave this land and his family. First he went to Haran in Mesopotamia, another fertile and prosperous region, a good place to raise sheep. But God called him to go further, to the land of Canaan, a much less fertile and more mountainous and rocky region. Shepherding and life in general would be more difficult, but God promised Abram that He would make his name great, that he would be a blessing to all mankind. And Abram believed God.
In today’s highly mobile society Abram’s journey may not seem like a big deal. But back in Abram’s day when travel was difficult, slow, and dangerous, it was extremely risky. Abram risked everything he held most dear to obey God’s call: his family ties and his inheritance, to go to a land in which he had no roots and no contacts, a place where he would be essentially a nomad. He did this in response to God’s promises.
As Christians, we, like Abram, are called to live a difficult life. We are called to take many risks by following His call. If we take that call seriously it could mean leaving our friends and family behind, abandoning the values, ethics, and morals of the world to live as disciples of righteousness in the Kingdom of God. We risk looking foolish in the eyes of the world. And yet our eternal reward is infinitely greater than anything this world values and praises.
Jesus once said “For many are called but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:14) we have been chosen by God. He has called us to serve Him to be like Abraham, and step out in faith. The Lord will bless others through us.