Abraham A place to belong
Read Genesis 12.1-8, Hebrews 11.8-10
Have you ever been asked to do something unfamiliar or uncomfortable? Maybe you've been asked to speak in front of a large group of people, or you've been invited to a party where you didn't know many people. Maybe you've had to move to a new city, neighbourhood, or school and leave behind the familiar, your home, your family, your friends, or even all three.
Today, we read about Abraham, who was asked by God to do something uncomfortable yet who responded with willingness and trust because of the hope he found in trusting God. Through Abraham, we learn that trusting God invites us to be a part of His family, a family in which we can find hope and belonging.
Meet Abraham
At this point in the biblical story, the man we're reading about is named Abram, but God will later change His name to Abraham (Genesis 17.5). He is married to his wife, Sarai, and Genesis 11.30 tells us that they are unable to have children. Despite this, however, Abram and Sarai are living comfortably with their family when God appears to Abram and tells him to leave it all behind. God is upfront with Abram from the very beginning and explains why He is asking Abram to go to the land God will show him: He is going to bless Abram, grow his family, and make them into a great nation. He will also use Abram's family to bless all people on the earth. So Abram packs up his wife, his possessions, his servants, and his nephew and sets out for the land God commands because Abram trusts God to keep His promise.
Setting out to a new land is risky, he will be leaving family support and comfort. But Abram chooses to trust and obey God because he knows there is hope in God's promise, hope that his family will grow and that God will bless them.
This particular hope may not seem like a big deal to us today when large families are less common and may not be everyone's desire. But in Abram's day, family was everything. Everything you did mattered only because it could be shared by your family. So, when the childless Abram hears God's promise to make his family great, he is given newfound hope that he will have a future, a place to belong, and a meaningful life.
Abram chooses to trust God and set out for the far-off land of Canaan - a long and difficult journey though he doesn't know where he is going (Hebrews 11.8). He does this because he longs for a family and a land of his own, and that is the hope that trusting God brings him. As Hebrews 11.10 tells us,
"He was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God."
Abraham and Advent
But God has a plan that is much bigger than just Abram and his family. He is going to bless all the people of the world, and He is going to use Abram's family to do so. The promise that was made to Adam and Eve is echoed again here to Abram. The Redeemer promised in Genesis 3.15 would come from Abram's family, and it would be this Redeemer who would bring blessing to the people of the world (Genesis 12.2-3).
As this story unfolded, God would continue to enact His plan of redemption and choose to use Abram's family to bring that plan to fruition. Abram's choice to leave behind his home in obedience to God would result in the ultimate blessing, that his family would be God's family. However, as we see Abram's story continue throughout the book of Genesis, we soon see that Abram wasn't perfect: like every human being, he too was affected by sin. But Abram's hope never rested in his own abilities; his hope rested in the One to whom Abram's story ultimately points, Jesus.
Years later, the New Testament tells us that Jesus, a descendant of Abram, came to earth to make a way for anyone who puts his or her trust in Him to be a part of God's family. Jesus was the blessing God promised would come through Abram's family.
What Does This Mean for Me?
Because of Jesus, we now have the opportunity, like Abram, to have a great family- a family that provides us with a hope for the future, a place to belong, and a meaningful life. The Advent season reminds us of this very hope.
When we choose to trust in Jesus, we are welcomed into God's family, where this hope and belonging can be found. This hope is for you, too. No matter if you struggle to feel accepted by peers or classmates, if you feel like your family is not what it ought to be, or even if you think your life lacks meaning-Jesus's birth brings hope. He gives us hope that we can be adopted into God's family, where we can rest in the perfect love of our heavenly Father.
Application Questions
Read Genesis 12.3 again. Write down in your own words what God promises Abram's family.
What does being a part of God's family mean for your identity? How should this influence your own behaviour at home, at school, and in your community?
Pray and thank God that He has brought you into His family.
