Genesis 12:1–4a (NRSV)
Read Genesis 12:1–4a on biblegateway.com
Chapter 12Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. Verse 2I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. Verse 3I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
Verse 4So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
Devotion
Imagine having to leave your homeland, like the already elderly Abram. God asked him to give up all that he knew in order to engage in a relationship with God, to trust God’s promise that Abram and Sarai would be the forebears of a great people. Abram was told to leave his land and go on a journey both physical and spiritual—one that would be disruptive and cause displacement, yet one that would be transformative.
This Lenten season, we are on a spiritual journey toward healing and wholeness, moving from what is comfortable to what might make us uncomfortable. But it is a journey that I believe will help us become the people God is calling us to be. We take this journey reflecting on the theme hymn, “Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross.” Like Abram, as part of God’s people, we are blessed—that’s a given. But what does it mean to be great? As we take part in this spiritual journey, may we reflect on the question of what it means to be great while staying near the cross.
Prayer
God of wonder, God of awe, during this Lenten season, you challenge us to go on a transformative spiritual journey. Give us courage like Abram to trust your promise to lead us in relationship with you. Amen.