Sermon Musings (3/20/11) - Go Where?

Too often when we read our Bibles, we are only given the reader's digest version of the story.  Take the call of Abram and Sarai to move to a new land (Genesis 12:1-9).  God calls, and Abram faithfully responds in the affirmative.  That's all we're told!  You would think there was some conversation, right?  I mean, how many of us would just pack up and move without even asking a few questions?  Moving, especially to an unknown destination, is scary!

What kind of questions would you ask God?  My first question would definitely be "where?" and it would be followed by a litany of other questions like "when?" "how far?" "who's there that I know?" etc. etc. etc.  But the Bible is not concerned with giving us a blow by blow description complete with every little detail.  The story is remembered and told precisely because Abram and Sarai were faithful and did pack up and move!  So the next question to ask is where is God calling you to move?

You may be reading this and thinking that God is not calling you to move anywhere.  You may have just made your final mortgage payment, or maybe you just recently moved to where you are now.  What we must always remember when reading our Bibles is that as the living word, it has the ability to speak to us on multiple levels, and while the story of Abram and Sarai is indeed speaking about a literal call to a change of location for them, it is also a story about faithfulness in relationship with God.

In other words, we are all on a spiritual journey.  Each one of us is growing and maturing in our faith and relationship with God.  So God may not be calling you to move to a new community, but may be calling you to move to a new level of commitment in your relationship with Him.  So I will pose the question once again...where is God calling you?

Grace & Peace,
Pastor John