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Barnes in Commonthe magazine of Churches Together in Barnes
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Pastoral Letterby Rev. Graham Pulham, Barnes Baptist ChurchAt the start of every new year I find my thoughts turning to Abraham, that amazing man of faith, and whenever I do so there comes to mind those challenging words from the Bible, ‘By faith, Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.’ Hebrews 11:8 It’s a call to venture out into the unknown, leaving behind the familiar and stepping out into the unfamiliar. It’s a call that will lead Abram (as he was then known) from an old identity into a new one – that of Abraham. Pretty scary stuff for those of us who find comfort and assurance in the familiar and who like the sense of security that comes from believing, ‘I am in control of my life’. One of the things I find so attractive about Abraham is the ambivalence of his character. At times he is a man who exercises tremendous faith; as at the moment when he responds to God’s call and ventures out into the unknown. But at other times his faith is eclipsed by doubt; he makes bad decisions, he makes big mistakes – and he is quite capable of making the same big mistake twice. Abraham is faithful but he is also flawed. I find that helpful because I feel he is someone I can identify with. And I also find it reassuring because it reminds me how patient and gracious God is. Despite the fluctuations of faith, despite the personal ups and downs, the victories and defeats, Abraham makes it through – and he makes it through because he does not travel alone. The road before him may be familiar or unknown, the realisation of his destiny a mystery, but because Abraham is a man of faith he knows that ultimately the realisation of his journey of faith lies in the hands of the One who first called him. And so, continues the writer of Hebrews, ‘By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country .. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.’ 11:9-10 Although we are separated from him by many thousands of years we too can learn from Abraham’s experiences and the experiences of many other men and women who first heard and then sought to be obedient to God’s call. Perhaps like Abraham, as a man or woman of faith, you may be called to venture out into the unknown, out from your comfort zone, to a place physical or spiritual as yet unknown to you. Or perhaps as someone who might not necessarily identify yourself as a person of faith it may be time to respond to the promptings you might not before have thought of as being a ‘call’. Hearing and responding to that call we’ll find ourselves – like Abraham – often venturing into the unknown. For God’s call is a call that both transports and transforms; transports as we are led by Him, transforms as we are changed by Him, hearing and responding. Obeying and going entails both a physical and a spiritual pilgrimage
as we step out into His will, travel His way and journey on to that
which God has called us to be. Sometimes we will find ourselves exercising
tremendous faith, Sometimes we will make big mistakes. Sometimes the
venture into the yet unknown will appear almost heroic. Sometimes our
faith will be eclipsed by doubt. But, as Abraham discovered and as his
enduring example shows us, our personal demeanour is not the essential
thing. What counts is the faithfulness of the One who has called us
and who promises to accompany us along the way and provide us with all
we need to complete the journey. “Never will I leave you; When our pilgrimage is of God, when we answer the call and go forth in the Spirit of Jesus we, like Abraham, cannot fail to arrive at the ultimate goal set before us; the new Creation; ‘the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God’. In many ways it’s a venture into the unknown. But the unknown has no fears when we reach out to take the hand of God and travel on with Him. |
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