It's Not About Us (Acts 7:2-8)

The life of Abraham is a great reminder that faith is not about us. 

In Acts 7 Stephen recounts a quick summary of the life of Abraham -the great founder of faith. It's easy to respect a guy who holds a major position in the major world faiths (Muslim, Jewish, and Christian). 

God reveals Himself to Abram and calls him to follow Him away from his homeland and live hundreds of mikes away from anything and anyone he's ever known (Genesis 12:1-5). 

Why? God doesn't exactly go into detail. He does however promise to bless Abram and be in relationship with him. Most of us would probably need a little more to go on but Abram stepped out in faith to follow God's leading not knowing the outcome. 

This is where it gets tricky. If you read the account Abraham in (Acts 7:2-8) it kinda sounds like Abraham got the short end of the stick as a result of his faith.

1. God asks him to leave his homeland and family (vs 2). 
2. He moves out of the country but doesn't know where exactly (vs 3). 
3. He wont get to own any land until he has kids (vs 4-5). 
4. After not being able to have kids for decades his very old wife finally has a son at age 90, so his son will at least inherit land- but not Abraham. (vs 5). 
5. Oh by the way your son's descendants will also become slaves within 4 generations for 400 years (vs 6). 
6. But I promise to rescue your descendants from slavery- now let's make it official by giving you a circumcision (vs 7-8)!

Do you think if God had fully disclosed His plan and read these verses to Abram when He first appeared to him that Abram would have agreed to follow? Maybe, but not for the right reasons. 

The main problem most of us have with faith is that we want to make it about us and not God. We tend to ask, "What's in it for me?" rather than, "What does God require of me?" Honesty my most of the time we just want My will be done not Thy will be done. 

If we look following Christ for simply personal gain we miss the point of faith and will probably come up shortsighted. However, if we trust in Jesus for the sake of following Him at the end of the day we will find Christ and consider everything else as loss compared to knowing Him (Philippians 3:9-10). 

The end result of faith is salvation (1 Peter 1:9) not earthly success, our comfort, or personal advancement (sorry Joel). Faith is not about us and it may actually make some things even more challenging in the present if we really choose to follow Christ with our lives. 

The good news though is that He's worth it. “and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.” ‭‭(1 Peter‬ ‭1:4-5‬). 

@josh1eight



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