Genesis 17:1-8 – When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am El Shaddai. Walk with me and be trustworthy. I will make a covenant between us and I will give you many, many descendants.” Abram fell on his face, and God said to him, “But me, my covenant is with you; you will be the ancestor of many nations. And because I have made you the ancestor of many nations, your name will no longer be Abram but Abraham. I will make you very fertile. I will produce nations from you, and kings will come from you. I will set up my covenant with you and your descendants after you in every generation as an enduring covenant. I will be your God and your descendants’ God after you. I will give you and your descendants the land in which you are immigrants, the whole land of Canaan, as an enduring possession. And I will be their God.”
I’ll start by admitting that scholars have much more to say about this passage than I’m about to say. It is profitable reading, so feel free to do some more of your own in-depth research on the significance of the name change from Abram to Abraham. However, I’m keeping it simple here to point out what I believe is the big idea.
Had I not answered what I believed to be God’s call on my life, I can only imagine what my life would have been like. Believe it or not, my childhood and teen years included musings of undertaking many different professions – a DJ, a lawn business owner, a psychologist, a youth director, a professional baseball player, and a doctor just to name the ones I can remember now. I laugh about those possibilities now, not because all of them (except maybe the DJ) wouldn’t have been perfectly legitimate and potentially meaningful professions, but because I cannot hardly think about missing what I have experienced because I pursued the direction God was calling in.
Early in my ministry, I remember having a conversation with a man in his sixties who had done well for himself and his family as a stock trader. He was Godly man and a faithful and committed leader in the church where I was serving at the time. He was also one of my biggest encouragers at the time. As I fumbled and bumbled through learning how to preach and lead a congregation (I was still in seminary), he would always work to find ways to highlight the growth he was seeing in me that I was not seeing in myself. I’m embarrassed that I cannot even remember his name, but I remember his encouragement and I will always remember the one conversation that I alluded to earlier. This is what he said to me.
“Eric, don’t ever give up on God’s call for your life. I felt a call to the work you are doing earlier in my life, but I didn’t pursue it. I’ve often wondered how my life would have been different if I had said ‘yes.’”
What I took away from that conversation is that I never wanted to have that kind wondering bouncing around in my mind. Please don’t misunderstand me. This man’s life was significant and successful in so many ways and I look forward to having a conversation with him in eternity about all that and what he meant to me. But his life would have been immensely different had he answered God’s call. The same could be said for Abram. The name Abram means “exalted Father.” And if Abram had ignored God, his life would have impacted many, for he was wealthy man who supported many families’ livelihood. He was already a “good” man. But he was invited to be “God’s man.” And by that, I mean he was invited to participate in God’s plan for all of humanity.
The name “Abraham” means “father of multitudes.” By changing his name, God was saying that Abram’s life would take on an identity and purpose that was not possible otherwise. The same is true for every single one of us. Lest you think it might be too late for you, remember that Abram was 99 when this happened.
For Further reading: the rest of Genesis 17 and the first half of Gen 18.
Question: What is the call of God on your life right now?
Prayer: Lord God, help us reach clarity about the call You make on our lives right now. Help us see what our lives might be pursuing the direction You have for us. Amen.
Prayer Focus: I ask you to pray for the family and congregation of Rev. Tanner White. Rev. White was ordained just last Saturday at the Florida Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. He died 3 days later in a terrible accident at home. He leaves a wife and two young children. He was serving Hillsborough UMC in the Tampa Bay area.
Weekday Word w/ Eric 
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