Romans 4:1-3

“Abraham entered into what God was doing for him, and that was the turning point. He trusted God to set him right instead of trying to be right on his own.”

So how do we fit what we know of Abraham, our first father in the faith, into this new way of looking at things? If Abraham, by what he did for God, got God to approve him, he could certainly have taken credit for it. But the story we’re given is a God-story, not an Abraham-story.

If you are unfamiliar with the premise of Romans, Paul spends the early part of this letter tearing down the notion that the Christian faith was based on works. The Jewish leadership of that early Roman Church was putting forward that Christians still had to abide by many of the Jewish laws and customs in order to be saved. He brings his argument home by referencing the “first father in the faith” Abraham and by stating that Abraham was not saved by works, but he was saved by faith.

At the end of the day, this is God’s story, not ours. Our only job is to trust in God and that He will set us on the right path. And that’s a good thing! Humans have a horrible track record when allowed to set their own path. I would much rather put my trust in God and follow His path than one that I have been trying to forge myself.

Let’s Pray: Lord, thank you for taking the burden off of my shoulders and letting me place it on yours. I trust that you have the correct path laid out for me and that if I walk that path, things will work out in the end. Amen.