The LORD said to Abram, “Leave your land, your family, and your father’s household for the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation and will bless you. I will make your name respected, and you will be a blessing.
Genesis 12:1-2 CEB
This weekend we celebrate Memorial Day, a day when we remember and honor those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for this country. Those who gave up their lives so that we might enjoy the freedom we now possess. Memorial Day is a time to reflect. Throughout history as it is today, men and women leave their families behind, their lives behind to serve in our country’s military. They leave their hometowns, not knowing what will happen to them. Nor even if they will every return.
It is a reminder of what God told to Abram, in Genesis 12. The Lord told him to “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation.” Notice that God leaves out a very important detail when he instructs Abram to start packing. He doesn’t say where? But Abram goes anyway. Abram doesn’t know what will happen to him. Or what challenges would face him. What would happen to his wife or his family.
Abram went anyway in faith. Knowing that God had greater things for him, that would affect not only himself, his family, but his nation and the entire world.
God many times sends us on a journey. A journey for which we may not see the complete destination. But for which future generations will benefit.
On Memorial Day we remember all those who took that step into the unknown. Serving their country, not knowing where it would lead them. Not knowing if they would ever return. But they went anyway. Because they believed in a more noble cause that was greater than their individual lives. A cause worth fighting for whose benefit would extend beyond themselves and their generation. And because they did, we reap the benefits of their sacrifice.
So here is a question for us to ponder and truly reflect upon in our lives. What are we establishing and working toward that we may not see the outcome in our lifetime? For which we will not see the fruits of our labor. But it doesn’t matter. We continue on faithfully following God’s path.
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