WHAT CAUSES US TO THINK?
 
Abraham is the Patriarch of our faith. He is often talked about in the New Testament as the model of our faith even though he failed a couple of times but my question is what happened before he started his walk of Faith?
 
The irony is I don't believe Abram came to know the Lord until later in his life. I remember helping in a Gospel project financially a while ago in Latin America-Columbia to be exact. As this mission project was experimenting on how to get the Gospel out they finally realized that by reaching people for Jesus Christ that were under the age of 14 these new converts were eager not only to accept the true Savior Jesus Christ but very willing to tell their parents,brothers,sisters and friends. It was not hard for this mission to figure out that it was much harder to convert people over this age but not impossible.
 
The reason why I say Abram came to know the Lord later in life is because He left Ur to walk by faith to Canaan. By the time he departed Heron, I believe a few commentaries that I read computed he was 75 years old.The implication of scripture at the very least shows me that he accepted the Lord later in his life. In my opinion this conversion happened in Ur of the Chaldees. The world was filled with once again a Babylonian system of worship and true to history God was rejected. First God warns the world through Noah and nobody steps forward then the world builds a tower because of fear and defiance toward God and God scatters them through different languages. You would think the people of the world would recognize this as judgment from God and turn to Him but the Bible spirals into the life of Abram immediately and describes a world void of God.This matches what Jesus Christ Himself says in Matthew 7:13-14." Enter ye in at the strait gait;for wide is the gate,and broad is the way,that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in threat;(14) because strait is the gate,and narrow is the way,which leadeth unto life,and few there be that find it." Abram found it but was one of the few.I would like to talk about something that very few people speak about and that would be "how did Abram figure it out?"
 
I just want to say I can't be dogmatic but I can make some points. At the time Abram was "thinking" the world was filled with idolatry.Two primary religions were predominant. People depending upon where they were would build a temple to a moon God or to Baal. In my opinion this bothered Abram because Gods' creation was being worshiped the same way the Creator should have been worshiped. There is only one God and He is so direct about this in Exodus 20:5. "Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them,nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God." In Romans 1:19-20 it says "Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them;for God hath showed it unto them (20) for the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen,being understood by the things that are made,even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse." It is not until the reader arrives at verse 25 of Romans chapter one that describes to a tie what was going on in the earth of Abram's day. "Who changes the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator,who is blessed for ever.Amen."
 
I believe Abram saw his conscience was bothering him. He knew something was wrong. When this happens and a person starts to think,I believe God respects the honesty and sincerity of the "struggle." There is something about the thinking process that God honors. Remember when Jesus asked Simon Peter "but whom say ye that I am?" Peter answered "Thou are the Christ,the Son of the living God(17) and Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou,Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in Heaven." Matthew 16:15-17.
 
Anytime we honestly struggle in finding the truth being that God is a good God,the Holy Spirit starts to work on us as we wrestle with truth and error.The moon was something God created and Abram figured out that it was not to be worshipped but not without God's help.
 
The world was once again filled with fear and the reason why I know this is because there was such a small conversion rate to the One True God.The only fruit that the devil can produce is stale and unsettled fear.In Abram's own way he was a very astute person to discern the difference. All that false worship and fear and only one person to really think about it.  The heart yearns for love not fear and Abram was not going to settle living his life and eternity apart from God's love,so as a result he made a decision to accept the Lord into his heart.
 
In closing you have to understand that this was a man that from all indications came from a stable home and economy. It took one man around the 19th century B.C.to discuss truth from error.Lord willing in future articles I will show you why this man was the model of faith for the believer in Jesus Christ.I shared with you in previous articles how wonderful "New Beginnings" in the Born Again believers life can be.New Beginnings in Noah's life after the flood, a New beginning after the partial tower project, and of course a "New Beginning" in Abram's life after he accepted the Lord into his heart. After this he was able to step out in faith and trust God and he started to realize at the end of his journey that God was in perfect control of his life which should be of great comfort to us in a world like this.
 
Hoping and praying that you will have this same supernatural peace that will guard your heart through your faith in Jesus Christ that Abram later called Abraham had as he obeyed God for the most part in times of danger knowing that the Great "I AM" was with him every step of the way reassuring,guiding,and loving him through every one of his trials.
 
Bob D.