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Genesis 15.6 (NIV)
Abram believed the Lord, and
he credited it to him as righteousness.
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Faith is not believing in spite of evidence;
faith is obeying in spite of consequence.*
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Abraham
didn’t just believe in God, he
believed what God said. How do we know he believed? By his acts of obedience. What
if Abraham had said, “I believe you God,” and then did nothing to show it? It
would probably mean he was lying. It certainly wouldn’t prove his faith. Saying you believe doesn’t count as
righteousness – you have to mean it. And if you mean it, you will show it.
The
most dramatic demonstration of Abraham’s faith is found in Genesis 22 when God
tells him to sacrifice the son he had been promised. Abraham could have gone
through the motions – even going so far as to actually slay his son – without a
shred of faith in God. If that had been the case, I don’t believe he would have
been commended by God down through the ages, for his obedience would have been
hollow. God knew what Abraham was thinking and feeling and believing as he
raised his arm, knife in hand, doing what he had been told to do.
While
we will probably never be called upon to perform so dramatic and drastic a gesture,
we often have to step out in faith and obedience. We must take the knife in our
hands, raise it in the air, and begin the downward motion, not knowing whether
or not there is a ram waiting in the bushes.
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God accepted Abraham not because he led a
perfect life, but because of his responsiveness to God’s promises. . . . God
looked for faith, not moral perfection.*
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