By Faith

Genesis 12 - The Call of Abram

The Lord tells Abram "pack up your stuff and go. I am going to bless you and bless everyone else who blesses you, as well."  Abram believes God and goes.  Packs up everything and takes off into the wilderness to follow wherever God will send him.  He's not concerned where.  He just goes.  I've often thought about this story when I've heard Pastor's say they can only answer a call if it is near good schools; if there will be jobs available that will enhance their spouses careers; if it's not too hot; or too cold.  I've also known Pastors who have packed up everything or sold it all and with their families went off to live and serve in mission fields in areas that many others would never even consider worth visiting. 

God told Abram to move and he did.  He simply trusted God. 

But, this story also contains one of my pet peeves.  Who remembers hearing, as a child, that Abram had his wife Sarai pretend she was his sister to protect his own backside?  Abram had faith, but he was not perfect in his actions.  My pet peeve hasn't anything to do with Abram, but in how we sometimes tell the story of Abram and many other "heroes" of the Bible.  I submit that many of our children through the generations until today never hear the whole story and they are inadvertently taught that the "heroes" from the Bible are really good people - that they never make mistakes - that they are pretty sinless.  Do we teach them that characters like Abraham, David, or Solomon are good people and therefore they were blessed?  And, after confirmation they begin to start sliding as they explore their increased freedom to make individual choices. I mean, our children will mess up.  We did. We still do.

The point is: who can hope to live up to the stories from the Bible in the way that they are often presented to our children?  We have lifted up all these "perfect" heroes from the Bible who were blessed by God.  We neglect to tell the stories of their very real and vulnerable and sinful selves.  What have we taught them?  Most likely, as Lutherans, we've reminded them that we are saved by faith - but then we tell the stories in a manner that reinforces the idea that blessings will follow their good works.  We use examples of good works that our children can never live up to and then wonder why they do not believe that God would bless them just as they are.

As Education Director at Zion, this is one of the things I look for when looking for study materials:  does it lift up the goodness - the good works - of man, of this or any generation preceding us, or does it lift up and glorify God?