Before the Biblical Abraham could receive a promise, before he could form a household and envision a future, he had to “Go from your country, your people, and your father’s household to the land that I (God) will show you.” (Genesis 12:1) Abraham had to detach himself from all the people, places, and things which were familiar to him, and receive an entirely new direction in life that left many unknowns. Abraham is unique in his capacity to exchange the very framework of his life, his home, his relatives, his land , for a voice and a reality that was not shared by anyone around him.

As Abraham responded to God’s voice, and apparently without previous experience or evidence, accepted His God’s promise, Abraham found himself in a relationship; one that grew and gave shape to his life. He wasn’t on earth to see the total fulfillment of the promise: “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing . . . and all people on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:2&3)

Nevertheless, the impossible birth of his son Isaac in his old age and the old age of his wife Sarah, fulfilled for Abraham, God’s most unlikely promise . The final fulfillment came hundreds of years later. The total fulfillment is realized in the person of Jesus, who said to Abraham’s descendants, “Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.” (John 8:56)

My grandmother told me emphatically that our “home town” is always the place where we were born. I never lived in the city where my mother gave birth to me, so I remained puzzled. When I read of Abraham’s journey, I knew that “home” is not a geographic place, but in truth “home” is a Person, a Person worth leaving everything in order to follow Him.

The leaving is the first step in finding “home.” It demands an unshakable faith that the One who accompanies us is real and worth the journey. “Home” is the One who inspired the hundred and fifty exquisite Psalms in the Bible. “Home” is the One whose Son agreed to shoulder the sins of the world in order to bring all of us “Home”. Home is a Person who loves and inspires us, and out of love , keeps us home for eternity.

Love in Him,

Prue