YOU'RE NEVER TOO OLD!

“You’re Never Too Old To Go”

Genesis 12:1-4

This is the 4th in a Lenten devotional booklet that I have written for our congregation. If it says something to you, that would be good.

In many ways, our Lenten journey is a matter of following God’s call in our lives. Many of us, like Andrew and Gideon, are called to leave what we were doing when we heard God call. Some of us, like Deborah and Samuel, are called to leadership, and some of us, like James and Bonhoeffer, are called to martyrdom. Some of us are called to touch people, and some of us are called to touch a people. Some of us are called to prophecy and some of us are called to teach, but whether we’re called to sing or preach, to feed the hungry, or clean the temple, we are all called to serve God! Indeed, our purpose is to serve God and to enjoy him forever. Yes, it’s true, we are all called to serve God, but most of us make excuses. We tell ourselves that we're not qualified. We tell God that we are not ready. We say that we have things to arrange. In the Bible, if it makes us feel better, there are many stories of excuse-makers who resisted God’s call, including men like Moses and Jeremiah.

However, there were also several men and women (like Mary) who gave up their own agendas and followed God immediately. They didn’t make excuses. They didn’t hesitate. They claimed God promises, trusted in his word, and followed him, often at considerable peril and always into the unknown. These men and women are our spiritual heroes. They model faith for us, and they bolster our courage. There number is legion by now, but it all began with Abraham (Abram) who lived in a town called “Ur” 4000 years ago, give or take a few hundred. Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, nor even a Muslim. He lived in a foreign and there’s no reason to think that he didn’t worship the gods whom his fathers worshiped. He didn’t do anything in particular to earn God’s call… but one night “The Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.” Go, God said, and I will make you into a great nation. Go, and I will bless (or curse) others for your sake. Go, “and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Wow! What a promise! What an opportunity... and what a challenge! Abram, God said, I want you to leave the only world you have ever known. I want you to walk away from the only customs, culture, and mores that you have ever seen. In the morning, I want you to say good-bye to your family, and your neighbors, and go to a land that I will show you. “Trust me on this,” God said, “And I will make you exceedingly great.” So, Abram did! He believed what God had said, and he lived as if he believed. He went. He began a journey that was based entirely on God’s word. He dropped what he was doing. He abandoned an entire way of life, and he didn’t make a single excuse. He simply trusted and obeyed, and while he didn’t know it, he became a spiritual giant when he took his first step. 

Abram was 75 years old when he set out from Harran… and one wonders if God actually knew that he was that old. Maybe, we are never too young, too old, too smart, too ignorant, too busy, too homely, or too anything… to take a step of faith!