Abraham is one of my favorite characters in scripture. I sometimes think about him as some superhuman who is almost an ethereal creature, or perhaps a man just below the status of Jesus. In other words, unattainable Godliness in human form. However, when I read the accounts of the life of Abraham, I realize he is just a normal man in whom God chooses to do a great work, and he obediently follows. When it comes down to it, Abraham really doesn't do anything all that special. He simply says "Yes" when God asks him to do something.
Many times in my life I have found myself trying to figure out what my life is meant for. I spend hours in scripture, prayer, and simple thought about what I am supposed to do with my life. I sometimes get frustrated because I feel that I am willing to serve, yet God doesn't have a direction for me. And then I look at the life of Abraham. Abraham, or Abram, was not called by God until he was 75 years old. We don't really know anything about the time before this in his life. I suppose Abram was probably following the Lord diligently, but God had a bigger calling for him later in his life. God had a purpose for this, because if he and his wife would have been younger, the miracle of the birth of Isaac would not be near as incredible. This helps me understand that God's timing is infinitely better than my timing.
More importantly to me, however, is looking at how readily Abraham simply replies "Yes" to the requests of God. Abraham doesn't spend long hours weighing options. He doesn't test the waters before he dives in. He doesn't really even do much that has an effect on a large group of people in his lifetime. He simply says "Yes" when God calls him.
I wish I could have the simple faith that Abraham has. Not the kind of faith that asks "How" and "When" and "Why," but the kind of faith that says "Yes."
Abraham is nothing special. Actually, when it comes down to it, I probably know more scripture and have studied the Word more than Abraham. Where Abraham excels, however, is in his ability to simply trust God. Sometimes trusting God seems like the worst idea possible. Remove the fact that it is a story from the Bible, but if you heard about someone who was going to sacrifice their child because God told them to, you would assume that person is crazy. Many times following God seems crazy. Most times when you follow God, people around you, even those closest to you (or maybe even your own wife, in Abraham's case), will tell you that you are crazy for doing so. However, if we as Christians can resolve to stop asking "Why" and "When" and "How" and simply say "Yes," we will finally know what it means to live a life of faith.
Am I crazy for following God? Possibly. Am I foolish for following God? Hebrews 11 tells me otherwise.
Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
If we as Christians can start to live like this, asylums just may become the new Church buildings. So be it.