Just Jump

Genesis 12:1-4

The Lord had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to a land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse.; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." So Abram left, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.

I am amazed by this story. Even though I grew up in a church that taught me the Bible, I never ceased to be amazed by Abram's enormous faith. God, in some way unknown to us, speaks to Abram and tells him to pack up his stuff and leave... and then Abram does.

You have to understand that this wasn't a simple move, like you moving from Alabama to Texas or Hopkinsville to Nashville. He packed up everything. His family. His animals. His servants. He packed it all up and took it with him, and please remember, that he couldn't go down to the local UHaul place and rent the super large 28 foot camel. Abram and his family strapped what they had on their backs, and on their animals, and they set out on foot.

Where were they going? They didn't know. How would they get there? No clue. Would they get robbed on the way? Killed on the way? Maybe. You see, I'm amazed by this story because Abram doesn't ask for the details. God tells him to move... and he moves.

This last Monday we took Emma, along with some of our friends to the park that is within walking distance of our house. Emma never ceases to amaze me with what she can do and Monday was no different. She took to climbing a rock wall on the playground equipment "all by herself." She would get to the top and turn around and say, "Jump me, Daddy! Jump me!" Which really means "catch me." She would walk to the very edge of the rock wall and then throw herself off into the air where I caught her and placed her safely on the ground. "I do it again!" she squealed, and then she would scamper back up the wall and jump off again.

I got to thinking about this. She was so carefree and comfortable jumping off of a high object. Unless you have a death wish and like to jump out of perfectly good airplanes people don't normally jump off of high places, at least not without thinking about it pretty seriously first. Why do you think Emma was so comfortable taking a flying leap off of the top of this playground? Is it because someone had explained to her gravity, and that if she jumps off the earth's gravitational force would pull her down to the ground? Is it because she understood that underneath the mulch on this playground there is a soft material that is designed to cushion children as they fall? Nope. She knew that she could jump off of that equipment and all would be OK, because she had complete trust in her daddy, and faith that he would catch her.

God is constantly intersecting our lives with direction. There are times that He calls us to pack up and move, and there are times He tells us to go and talk with someone about Him. There are times He tells us to do things that seem impossible, improbable, or just down right crazy. When God intersects our lives, if you are like me, the reaction tends to be similar to Moses' reaction when God calls him. "What? Me? No way." or "Tell me how this is going to work out, God." I want to know details. I want to know about providing for my family and what we'll eat and where we'll live. I want to be absolutely sure that I'll be taken care of. Abram doesn't ask these things. God says to go, and he goes. No questions. Now that's faith.

And sometimes all God says to us is this: "Put your feet on the edge of the playground equipment and take a flying leap... I'll catch you, I promise!"

So what is holding you back from jumping into your Heavenly Father's arms?