Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“God brought Abram outside and said, ‘Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ Then God said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.”
NL Daily Devotion for Monday, December 19, 2022
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Abram’s belief was no small thing. In this earliest era of civilization, we still functioned as animals—our singular drive was to ensure our immortality by making sure we passed on our genes. We loved our children, but they were as valuable for their ability to create still more descendants as for any inherent value they might have had—probably more so. And here was Abram, advanced in years with one wife (unusual at the time) who was also advanced in years and had yet to produce a child. Possibly Abram was okay with that. He had a nephew, after all, and Lot carried some of his genes. He clearly loved his wife, Sarai, despite their childless state, and hadn’t married other, younger women to produce heirs. Maybe he was content with the long life he’d led and happy to let his own line die out with him.
But God had other plans. “Nope. Abram’s it. The one I pick. He and Sarai will be the ultimate source of all my people.” Why Abram and Sarai? Why not? “Abram, count the stars, if you can. Hint: you can’t, but there’s a lot of them. That’s how many descendants you will have.”
And Abram, apparently without skipping a beat, completely disregarding his current state and the laughable unlikelihood that such a thing was remotely possible, says, “Yep. I believe it.”
I imagine God, at that point, thinking, “Well I made the right choice.” And now that I think of it, maybe that’s why God chose Abram and Sarai to be the founders of an entire nation. Because as far as human beings were concerned, it was impossible. Yet here was an opportunity for God to say, “With me, nothing is impossible! Imma take a little old couple and make them a people too numerous to count. And the whole world will be blessed through them!”
As we look toward the coming of Jesus in the midst of a sad and broken world, let’s remember the incredible faithfulness of Abram that with God all things are possible.
Have I seen the impossible happen in my life?
