A Father Like Abraham

When we think of Abraham, the Father of our Faith, we most likely revere him. He is the man God chose to bless with being the father of His children here on earth. He’s the man who trusted and obeyed God to the point of being willing to sacrifice his son if that’s what Almighty God wanted him to do. What a strong man of faith!

Perhaps a glance at Abraham’s life (originally known as Abram) will help us have the proper perspective when we think of our fathers. 

Leadership for the Family

“The LORD had said to Abram, ‘Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father's family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.’ Abram departed as the LORD had instructed, …” (Genesis 12:1-4).

They arrived in Canaan, where God appeared to Abram and told him He was giving this land to his descendants. Abram built an altar there to honor the Lord.

What a godly man.

Time passed, and a famine drove them to Egypt. Abram feared the Egyptians would kill him and take his beautiful wife, so he lied and said Sarai was his sister. Pharaoh took Sarai into his harem, and Abram got tons of gifts from Pharaoh because of her. So, Abram profited from handing Sarai over to be the new gal in Pharaoh's harem. Abram's plan worked. He lived. But, at what cost? Look what happened to his wife! (Genesis 12:10-20)

What a man who struggled with fear.

However, our faithful and true God did not allow this to be the end of their story. The Lord had promised Abram that he would make him into a great nation. He brought a plague on Pharaoh and his household and revealed the truth about Sarai to Pharaoh. So, Pharaoh took back the gifts and sent them both out of Egypt. They traveled (for months, maybe years) back to where Abram had built the altar in Canaan, and he "worshipped the Lord again" (Genesis 13:4).

What a repentant man.

Questioning God

Some time later, the LORD spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.”

But Abram replied, “O Sovereign LORD, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? ...You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir” (Genesis 15:1-3).

What a deeply human doubt.

The LORD's response does not condemn Abram, and is a well-known promise:

Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”

And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith. (Genesis 15:4-5)

Sarai had been unable to bear a child for Abram, so she told Abram to take her servant, Hagar, as an additional wife to bear him a son. Hagar got pregnant. She and Sarai became bitter enemies. Hagar had a son, Ishmael, when Abram was 86 (Genesis 16:1-16).

What a mess.

A New Name and a New Covenant

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants" (Genesis 17:1-2).

Then, the LORD made His covenant with Abram to make him "the father of a multitude of nations" and changed his name to Abraham (Genesis 17:4-5). The LORD also changes Sarai’s name to Sarah, and says He "will bless her and give you [Abraham] a son from her! ...and she will become the mother of many nations" (Genesis 17:15-16).

God blesses Abraham and Sarah.

Abraham bowed down to the ground, laughing to himself in disbelief that he and Sarah had a child when he was 100 and she was 90. In his mind, the promise must surely be for Ishmael. So, he offered his own solution to God: that Ishmael might live under His blessing (Genesis 17:17-18).

What a mix of faith and human limitation.

God corrects him and says, “No—Sarah, your wife, will give birth to a son for you. You will name him Isaac, and I will confirm my covenant with him and his descendants as an everlasting covenant" (Genesis 17:19).

God blesses him anyhow.

Because of Faith

What's the point of this back-and-forth look at Father Abraham's life? Abraham loved the Lord and still made plenty of mistakes. And, looking at the events, it's easy to see how quickly we might judge the actions of an imperfect father.

Galatians 3:6-7 says, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”

God looks at a person's heart. He looked at Abraham's heart and saw faith. He didn't make a checklist of what Abraham did right and wrong. He knew of his mistakes. In a nutshell, Abraham loved God, and God loved Abraham. That's the father of our faith—not a perfect man, but nevertheless, a man we revere. 

God loves our earthly fathers, too, and commands us to honor them (Exodus 20:12). God accepted and made a lasting covenant with Abraham, despite all his successes and failures, because He saw his heart.

Our fathers are a lot like Abraham–imperfect, but God loves them and so can we (who are also not perfect). 

Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. (Romans 12:10)

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Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.