Obedience
/So Abram went, as the Lord had told him.
-Genesis 12:4
Abram, or Abraham, is considered “ father of the faith” for three major world religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam (also known as the “Abrahamic” faiths!) There are many stories about Abraham in the Scriptures, and they come together to paint a pretty detailed picture of a human being much like any other human being. Some of the stories we have about Abraham are not very flattering, and because Abraham had his share of shortcomings, one might naturally wonder why he is considered to be so foundational to some of the worlds greatest religions.
The thread that runs continually through the stories of Abraham is this: When God calls, Abraham not only listens, he does what he’s told - even when he’s asked to do really, really difficult things. The stories of Abraham are stories of obedience to God. Paul writes that Abraham’s strong obedience was ‘reckoned to him as righteousness.’
In our individualistic society, we have issues with the idea of obedience. We think it a far more virtuous thing to forge our own path than to follow the directions of another. However, it may be that the stories of our ancestor Abraham’s obedience have something important to remind us in our own anxious and conflicted times. Whenever we find ourselves going off track, it’s both grounding and important to remember that God is God - and we are not God. This is what Abraham was uniquely good at remembering. And it might well help us to do the same.
