Forget Who You Are

“Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:” (Ge 12:1 AV)

In contemplating why the LORD used ‘thy’ in stead of ‘the’ or ‘that’, we see an important lesson on separation and service.  The ‘thy’ indicates that which defined who and what Abram was prior to the LORD calling him.  He was a citizen of a nation.  He was a herdsman among his kinsmen.  He was the eldest of the sons and thus the patriarch of his family upon his father’s death.  This places or stations of life was who and what Abram was.  Yet, the LORD had a different purpose for his life.  No longer would he be a citizen of a country.  He would be the father of his own.  No longer would be a laborer in the family business.  He would be the patriarch and founder of a nation that worshiped God.  No longer would he be the continuation of a heathen family, but the first among billions who would be redefined by the God of creation.  These things cannot happen unless he leaves that which he once was.

While speaking to one of my church members, a familiar refrain resurfaced.  He was sharing how he had moved a few times in his life, but all in the same city of which we now abide.  He was also sharing with a visitor a bit of my history.  The visitor wanted to know where I was from.  “All over” is my usual response.  This visitor could not comprehend how someone could have lived in four different states, eight different cities, and nine different counties.  He could not understand how someone could have attended three different high schools and have no class reunion to which he identifies.  Some may feel sorry for a person who has lived that way.  But the truth of the matter is, a history like that is liberating.  There are no ties to the past that keeps one grounded and unable to adapt to that which the LORD may wish him to do.  Each new place is an adventure.  There can be no loyalty to the past.  It was a step along the way.

Abram was asked to abandon all that had given his life meaning and structure for the opportunity to be something and do something unique for the LORD.  Don’t shed a tear for him.  Don’t empathize with perceived trials that never truly materialized.  The point is, for the LORD to use us in ways that we cannot even imagine, we have to allow Him to define who and what we are.  We cannot allow our circumstances of life to be the defining factor in what the LORD can and will do.  We are a new creature.  Old things are passed away.  All things have become new.  If that is the case, this should be a pattern of life and not a one-time event.  It means liberty!