The Command to Leave
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. Genesis 12:1
Read Genesis 12:1-9
We should not hesitate to speak the words with which we ended yesterday’s meditation: Speak Lord. When we do this, we let go of the ‘oars’ of our life; we submit to the Lord’s full control, not knowing what He will say or do. Take Abram’s case. The Lord calls him out of his native land and he becomes a wanderer looking for refuge. The Lord takes Abram away from his family and his friends with whom he feels comfortable and secure. He calls him from his father’s house, away from everything that was dear and treasured by him. And what did the Lord propose in exchange? He gave him a pledge, namely, the Promised Land. But Abram did not know what that entailed, where it was, what he would find and whether he would be better off there. Abram had to wait and see. He traded well-known, safe surroundings for an uncertain future. In all this he had one certainty: God’s promise.
Today it is no different. At our baptism the Lord commanded us to go out. Our baptism form warns us to flee from the world. That is basically the same as what Abram was told to do. Say goodbye to the world, for there is no future in it. If anyone is a friend of the world, then he is an enemy of God. What a privilege that the Lord calls us already at our birth. What a greater blessing when the Holy Spirit makes that calling effectual. This takes place when you are born from above. Then you become a stranger in this world and a citizen of the kingdom of heaven.
Question: Have you already answered the call given at your baptism?
Psalter 213:1, 3 (based on Psalm 78) My people give ear, attend to my word, In parables new deep truths shall be heard; The wonderful story our fathers made known, To children succeeding by us must be shown. Let children thus learn from history’s light To hope in our God, and walk in His sight, The God of their fathers, to fear and obey, And ne’er like their fathers, to turn from His way.