We all have a story to tell. Some are more exciting than others, some seem to always go wrong while others seem to continually land on their proverbial feet. One question we have to answer is “Who is the author of our story?” Most of the time we would consider that we are the author. We are writing our story through the decisions we make. Yet there are also times when we realize someone else may be behind it all. Our name may be on the cover but another’s hand is pushing the pen.
Abraham certainly made a lot of decisions about his life. He left Ur of the Chaldeans, traveled to Haran and then to Canaan, the Promised land. Yet he left Ur because his father said so. His father Terah had a mind to move to Canaan but once he got to Haran he seemed content to stop. We know one of Abraham’s brothers died in Ur before they left. Was his father too sad about the loss of his son to stay there? Was his father more of a businessman looking for new opportunities? We don’t know but we do know that each of those choices brought Abraham closer to the plan that God had for him. In the case of leaving Haran we know that God directly said to Abraham he was to go to a place that God would show him.
The question of who is writing our life can begin to seem confusing and a little scary when we think that we really don’t have the control that we thought we had. That is exactly where faith comes in. Paul reminds us in Romans that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. Abraham made the choices he did or was led by God to make the choices. In the end it was all the same because Abraham wasn’t living simply for himself but for God.
I’m reminded of what Paul said to the Philippians, “. . . being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ.” Phil. 1:6 Ultimately our story is God’s story and even the simplest of lives have meaning and value when lived for him. Have faith and keep moving.
Abraham certainly made a lot of decisions about his life. He left Ur of the Chaldeans, traveled to Haran and then to Canaan, the Promised land. Yet he left Ur because his father said so. His father Terah had a mind to move to Canaan but once he got to Haran he seemed content to stop. We know one of Abraham’s brothers died in Ur before they left. Was his father too sad about the loss of his son to stay there? Was his father more of a businessman looking for new opportunities? We don’t know but we do know that each of those choices brought Abraham closer to the plan that God had for him. In the case of leaving Haran we know that God directly said to Abraham he was to go to a place that God would show him.
The question of who is writing our life can begin to seem confusing and a little scary when we think that we really don’t have the control that we thought we had. That is exactly where faith comes in. Paul reminds us in Romans that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. Abraham made the choices he did or was led by God to make the choices. In the end it was all the same because Abraham wasn’t living simply for himself but for God.
I’m reminded of what Paul said to the Philippians, “. . . being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ.” Phil. 1:6 Ultimately our story is God’s story and even the simplest of lives have meaning and value when lived for him. Have faith and keep moving.
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