The Warranty of Faith is Legacy and Love

REFLECTIONS
March 8, 2009

The essence of the Hebrew Bible is covenant. Which is to say contract law. In Genesis seventeen, God comes to Abram and proposes a working arrangement. I will be your God and you will be my ambassador. Leading my people through trial and tribulation until they reach the land I have promised them. For this Abram would receive a legacy or inheritance of a nation of people related to him according to God, “numbering as great as the stars.” What a promise! Were any of us to receive such a promise could we refuse? It is interesting for two basic reasons. First Abram is older than dirt itself (as is his lovely bride Sari). Second, Abram knew plenty of gods, but this One claimed to be The One who could deliver.

It is important for us as modern believers to remember that people in this time of history followed a divergent mind set where household gods and regional gods held great sway over individuals and society as well. Yet Abram aged and worn is told he and his very mature wife will , if they follow the lead, be parents of virtually all of humanity. Scripture, of course, records that Abram and Sari accept the offer of God along with the warranty, yet they do so after first laughing at it. However do we really understand the terms of the agreement?

While it looks straightforward, “I will be your God and you will be my people... and your numbers will number greater than the stars.” The truth of the matter is that both Abram and Sari doubt the possibility of God to uphold the contract. It is only after Abram and Sari see that the fine print requires serious change, as in their names from Abram to Abraham, and Sari to Sarah, that they understand God is serious.

Far too often we misinterpret the experience of faith as saying a few words or participating in a particular ritual. However, the rubric of faith at its essence involves change. A change of identity, if you will, from one person before we knew God, to a complete different person afterward. Part of the question we must ask ourselves even here, even now is what is the legacy we wish to leave? Does it belong to us or in the end does it belong only to God?

Dr. Joey K. McDonald
First United Methodist Church
4832 Tujunga Avenue, North Hollywood, CA 91601