By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
Hebrews 11:8 (ESV)
In defining faith, the author of Hebrews gave us many examples from the Old Testament of people who demonstrated faith. One of the primary examples he gives us of faith is Abraham. The details of Abraham’s life before he was called are sparse. And why God called him is unknown.
But when he received God’s call to leave his father’s household and go to a land He would show him (Gen. 12:1), Abraham went. Abraham could not do a web search to find out about the land he was going to. He did not even know where God was leading him. But Abraham obeyed and went.
And in some ways, Abraham models the faith we are called to demonstrate. God has called us to leave the world we were born into behind and to travel to a place He would show us. A heavenly city (Heb. 11:16, Rev. 21), whose builder is God (Heb. 11:10).
Like Abraham, we do not really know what that heavenly city will be like. We have some clues, but it is beyond our ability even to imagine its reality (1 Cor. 2:9). So, like Abraham, we are to walk by faith, living as foreigners here, even as we look forward to what God has prepared for us (Heb. 11:9-10).
Let’s keep our eyes fixed on the promised land that we are traveling toward, turning aside neither to the left nor to the right (Jos. 1:7). Leaving behind our old way of life and walking by faith in the One who gave Himself for us. That is how the ancients pleased God (Heb:11:1-2). And it is how we will please God and come into the rest He has prepared for us (Heb. 4:2-3).
