A FRESH START

Genesis 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

In our first reading of today, we read about the call of Abram, which is very easy to remember owing to the well known dialogue between him and God promising to make of him a great nation. It is however the things he was asked to leave behind that interests me: ‘his country, family and his father’s house.’

I wondered if there was any significance to God making these specific requests and the answer was a big YES. First and foremost, one’s country and family are the source of their identity – thus God wanted Abraham to become a citizen of ‘no land’ so he would not carry the burden of being reminded of all that his country and household stood for, but look forward to his new identity.

Abandoning his father’s was of even greater significance because after the death of his brother Haran, he was definitely next in line to succeed his father after his death hence there would be an inheritance for him to claim. Thus to remove any lingering attachments to his past, God had to strip him of this so he would march forward towards the promise laid before him.

Before one can move forward without being held back, many connections to the things that can potentially hold us back need to be severed. It appears God undertook a risk assessment on behalf of Abram and made due recommendations to which he also responded. Sweetheart, when God asks you to move forward, He really means to do so and forget the things of old.

Remember # the rear mirror of a car is smaller than the wind screen because life must be lived looking ahead and not that much behind.