Prompt: Abraham, Bible, by Larry Elmore, by Justin Gerard

In Genesis 12 verses 1 to 3, we read that God commanded Abraham to leave his country, his people, and his father's household. God gave this command as part of his plan to provide the right direction for mankind. We have seen how God made this world perfect, how man lost paradise, and how man filled this world with violence. The right direction that God provided humanity was realized when he called Abraham to become a great nation.

God established the nation Israel out of his call to Abraham. God wanted Israel to be a light to the nations of the world, and that through Israel, nations will return to Yahweh.

In this article, let us focus our attention on God's call to Abraham that made him a great nation. Abraham's call is relevant not only for Moses' time but also for our time.

The title of this post is "Abraham's Calling." As Abraham responded to the call of God, you and I are also expected by God to respond to his call. Like Abraham, God expects a response from those who heard his word.

What is the character of God's calling?

This is a calling to give up.

No, this is not the losers' game. Giving up here means surrendering all things that hinder you in responding to His call. In Abraham's case, it was a call to leave his country, his people, and his household . . .

The message to leave everything is relevant not only during Moses' time but also for our time. As God called Abraham to leave the land of Ur (Gen. 1:31; Acts 7:4) and to go to Canaan, God also told Moses to leave Egypt and march to the Promised Land. Likewise, in our time, since Jesus is the promised Seed to Abraham, deliverance from the kingdom of Satan is only found in Jesus. And for those who are no longer under the kingdom of Satan, God requires non-conformity to the pattern of this world (Romans 12:2). In the language of the author of Hebrews, we must throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles (12:1). In the language of John:

Do not love the world or anything in the world. . . for everything in the world - the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does - comes not from the Father but from the world (1 John 2:15a, 16).

And so Christians are called by God to a life of non-conformity to the pattern of this world, to throw off everything that hinders their calling, and to stop loving anything in this world. In short, give up anything that hinders your calling.

Meaning of not loving the world

Moreover, we need to clarify what we mean by not loving the world or what are we to give up. This is important because there are Christians whose understanding of spirituality is not based on the Bible.

When the Bible mentions the word "world," it means either of these three:

• The physical world, the earth, the universe, or the created order. When God tells us to give up the world, he does not mean the physical world for the physical world declares his majesty, and we are called to take care of it as His stewards.

• The human race or humanity or the people living in this world. This could not be the meaning of not loving the world, for God himself so loved the world, that is mankind, that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

• The total of human life and culture that is hostile to God. This is what we are called to give up.

The reason why I think clarifying this is important is because many Christians in our time think that to be spiritual means you must have no concern for the created order and the human race. And if you are concerned about how people destroy this world through environmental pollution, war, and similar evils, you are no longer spiritual and becoming worldly. If you show concern about how people treat each other with the increasing violence on women, and children, and because of gender and religion, you are becoming worldly. This kind of spirituality is not the spirituality taught in the Bible. I call this "escapist spirituality."

What God is calling us to give up is the total of human life and culture that is hostile to God. This is most evident in the dominant thought patterns in this world such as humanism, materialism, and atheism. In other words, God expects our minds to be different from the dominant thought patterns in this world. Only then our life will be different.

This is a calling to live a life that pleases God.

God told Abraham, ". . . go to the land I will show you." For both Abraham and Moses' generation, this command meant going to Canaan. In our time, this means living the kind of life that pleases God. Again, let us return to the second part of the two New Testament passages that we quoted earlier.

In Romans 12, this means transformation by the renewing of the mind (12:2b). In Hebrews 12, this means running with perseverance the race marked out for us and focusing our eyes on Jesus (12:1b, 2a). In short, going where God wants you to go means renewal of the mind, focus on Jesus, and perseverance in the race.

Since what God is calling us to give up is non-conformity to the pattern of the world, the second part of God's call is transformation by the renewing of the mind. In other words, we cannot go to the place where God wants us to go unless we first give up the pattern of this world and change our minds. Or to put it another way, we cannot live the kind of life that pleases God if we do not give up the thought pattern of this world, and allow the word of God to change our ideas. Only when we do this prerequisite, that we will be able to live our life of "Promised Land" in Jesus. Only then, that we will walk in victory, freedom, peace, and abundance.

This is a calling to greatness.

I will make you into a great nation...

The calling of God to every one of His people is great not only because the God who called is great, but his calling itself is a calling to greatness. This means that God's calling has a definite purpose, that you have a certain future, and in fact that future has already been assured - that in Christ you are already a citizen of a great nation.

Remember that Abraham was childless when this promise was given. His wife was barren, and both of them were already old. But nothing is impossible with God

During Moses' time, Israel was under oppression. Religiously, their mind was corrupted by polytheism. Politically, they were under tyranny. And economically, they were slaves. Considering their situation, it seems impossible for them to become a great nation. But nothing is impossible with God.

Likewise, in our time, because of Jesus, the Seed of Abraham, anyone can become part of God's chosen nation. The apostle Paul told us that when we were separated from Christ, we were excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise (Ephesus 2: 12). But because of God's abundant grace displayed in Jesus, we are now no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people (Ephesians 2: 19).

Applying the insight to the Philippine context

I forgot the exact year I watched a video from a Philippine television network about an invitation for Filipinos to study, work, and migrate to New Zealand. New Zealand was pictured as a very promising nation, a prosperous nation that gives opportunity to many Filipinos to change their lives. I think many will respond to that invitation.

In that year, sensational corruption and scandal in the higher places caught the attention of the media. Two senators had been imprisoned. Other lawmakers are believed to be involved in such a high profile corruption. Filipinos are angry, and they want all politicians who pocketed people's taxes to be sent also into prison.

There is nothing new in this kind of corruption. Not a few of our lawmakers are plunderers. Consequently, many are giving up our country as hopeless. For these Filipinos, changing their citizenship is liberation from a corrupt and oppressed country into a land that promises a bright future for their families.

In the Gospel of the Kingdom centered on Jesus, a far greater liberation has already been given to His people. In this world, we may or may not escape economic oppression in our country. But one thing is sure, if we have citizenship in the kingdom of God, we are assured of a better future, if not in this life, in the life to come. So if you are a Christian, you must rejoice that you are now a citizen of God's kingdom.

Conclusion

God told Abraham to leave his country, to go to the land that God would show him, and God promised that Abraham would be made a great nation. We too are commanded by God to give up anything that hinders our call, to go where God wants us to go, that is, to live the kind of life that pleases him, and was given that wonderful privilege to become citizens of a great nation, the kingdom of God.

Grace and peace!