Coming to Faith: Genesis 15

I have to confess, I don't enjoy the story of Abram/Abraham as much as I do most of the other Genesis stories. The story seems choppy to me and the main human characters are hard to like. Tradition makes a great deal of what a great guy Abraham was and the New Testament refers back ot him as a man of profound faith--a real role-model.

I can't see it. There are passages where Abram comes across as wise, kind, brave and faithful, but they're scattered in with a lot of bad behavior. His wife, Sarai, isn't much of a treasure either. Granted, as a woman, she has less choice about her life than her husband, but she is still less than likable. In fact there's nobody in this story it's easy to like.

In Chapter 15 we find Abram doubting God. He has the blessing but he doesn't have a son to leave everything to. In Abram's time, and really through the whole of the Old Testament, there is no real idea of an afterlife. There is heaven, shere God and other celestial beings live, but there's no belief that humans go there when they die. Humans, good, bad, and anything in-between, all go to Sheol. This Hebrew word is sometimes translated "Hell" but it's not a place of judgment, punishment, or reward. It was just conceived of as a place where all people lingered fter death. With no belief in an afterlife, the ancients thought that the only form of immortality open to them was having male heirs.

Theologan Walter Brueggemann in his commentary on Genesis says that this is perhaps the most important chapter in the Abraham story. God promises blessing, Abraham challenges the promise as impossible, God reassures Abram, and Abram believes. In this passage, he suggests, Abram learns to trust enough that he can have hope in a hopeless situation, and this is what faith really is.

This is what make makes Abraham a role model. It's not his courage, because he sometimes acts like a coward; it's not his wisdom, because he sometimes shows awful judgment; it's not his compassion, because he often treats others badly. But Abram has something wonderful in spite of his many flaws. He has faith and this allows him to keep hope, even in hopeless situations. This more than positive thinking because it is seen in his actions. Positive thinking is a good attitude to have, but having hope and basing your decisions on it, even in situations that seem hopeless, is even more important. It is a quality that helps us to be better people, doing the things that are compassionate, just, and true even when it would be much more practical not to. It pushes us beyond out limits as we choose to trust in God's limitless grace.