God promised to bless Abraham, but Abraham would not receive all God had for him unless he claimed it by leaving everything – his familiar surroundings, his comfortable lifestyle, his old friends, his values, his job, his home, and even his family – and set out on a life of faith. God told him, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you” (Gen. 12:1). Abraham did not know where God would lead, just that he was to follow. God’s command was clear. Abraham was to put God first in his life if he wanted to receive God’s blessing.
If Abraham obeyed God by putting Him first and by following His lead for the rest of his life, things would be dramatically different. He must have known that God was not just adding a weekend hobby or an additional commitment to an already busy life. God was describing a radical change!
About four thousand years ago, Abraham left Ur of the Chaldees, looking for “the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” As he followed God in a life of faith, he lived in a tent that he constantly moved from place to place. He never settled down. He never was allowed to put down roots or have any kind of permanent residence. He knew he was just an alien and a stranger on earth-just a pilgrim passing through to a great eternal city with foundations.
Can you imagine the thrill that will be Abraham’s when he bursts through the gates of My Father’s House, shouting, “I’ve found it! I’ve found what I have been hoping for! All the days and nights of wandering and living in tents were worth it. All of God’s promises are true!” All of Abraham’s goals and hopes and dreams-those things that were the driving motivational forces in his life-had been focused on his eternal home, and he will not be disappointed! The city of his dreams is built by God!
