Father Abe

 ..........In Hindsight.......

Today as I was riding my stationary bike, I listened to R.C. Sproul’s radio segment, “Renewing Your Mind” entitled “Grow Up”. 

First off I am so blessed by our Church’s website (see side bar) that has this direct link and I like  Mr. Sproul’s discernment and wisdom so much that I put that same link on my blog (again, to the right). 

The topic was childlike faith versus childish faith.  Childlike faith is implicit faith or as Sproul says, Fides Implicitum .  (That surely is misspelled)  That is believing God, not merely believing in God, or about God.  Childlike faith, implicit faith, means “without question”.  He defined this faith as “Authentic faith in the biblical sense that believes God for your life”.

And here is where I connected to Mr. Sproul’s message today.  He chose one of my favorite characters in the Old Testament, Abraham.  Father Abraham…..father of the faithful.

God chose this old man, with lots of grey hair (like mine), a man comfy with his life, settled!!!  God calls to him to ‘get thee up’ and leave your home, leave your security, leave everything you know and go far away, somewhere you’ve never been before and live there.  He had to “Leave all the pillows of security of  his life” as Sproul says.

I identify with Father Abe.  I mean I know what it is to leave my extended family, leave all familiarity, my church, my beloved home, neighbors and all that was my identity.  LEAVE.  But here is the difference.  I left kicking and screaming in my heart.  Obedient to God in action, but not in my heart……….at first, anyway.

Abraham, as Sproul says, “was called to abandon and walk out and trust God for his future.  Abraham believed God and he put his life in God’s hand.  He exhibited fides implicitum, a childlike faith.  Authentic Faith.”

Oh, if in hindsight I could do it all over again……….I could say now that I walked out (actually drove out to Texas) and trusted God for my future in complete abandon to Him like Abraham. 

But now, a year and a half later, I thank God that I am learning to trust Him implicitly, to trust Him in His goodness and His wisdom even when I can not see it.  To be brought to points along the way when there is nothing else to see but the face of my savior, Jesus.  Now, I can say with RC Sproul that it would be utterly foolish to not trust implicitly the infallibly of the Holy Creator.

He is all, in all, over all.

Looking back, which I know things are clearer in a rearview mirror, I see I am childish when I trust in myself.   So, like my hero in Genesis, I pray I have a childlike faith with complete abandon to Christ, trusting Him for every moment of my future.