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Abraham,Ideal man of Faith

The bible says that "faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God" The reason why Abraham is widely acclaimed to be the father of faith and as such the ideal man of faith in the bible is his unshakable belief in the word of God that came to him to depart from his fathers house to a land that God was going to show him. "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going" (Heb. 11:8, based on Gen. 12:1). He believed and departed from his native Chaldea home of Ur without knowing how it was going to work out.

Now, many people believe in what they see rather than what cannot be seen physically. That is not faith. To please God and be blessed, we must emulate Abraham. He did not budge when he heard God's voice in the midst of an idolatry community but decided to trust in the Almighty to keep him and prosper his way as he went forth. God does not want us to view this world as a permanent home, because he has something better for us. We are encouraged to see the future with Abraham: "For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God" (Heb. 11:10).

Abraham developed enough patience to wait for the word to come to pass. Consider the fact that he held on to the word of God through thick and thin. Instead of immediately occupying the land as promised by God, he rather became a wanderer. He wandered to the land of the Pharaohs and Abimelechs and was confronted with all kinds of temptations. "By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise" (Heb. 11:9).

Author: Lawrence Tsimese

Then came the golden moment when God covenanted with him and promised him a son to succeed him as an heir. He never gave up even though Sarah His wife gave up and asked him to take her maid Hagar to wife so that she would bear children for her. God's ways are definitely not ours. Ishmael was born alright for Abraham, but the promised seed, Isaac, was born when both Abraham was at ripe age of a hundred years and Sarah was ninety.

Patience is the catalyst for the manifestation of faith. Abraham endured another test of his unflinching faith in God when he was asked by God to sacrifice his son Isaac to Him. By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. "He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned" (Heb. 11:17-18, referring to Gen. 21:12 and 22:1-18). He decided to obey without question. Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead (Heb. 11:19). Abraham himself had once been "as good as dead" (Heb.11:11); the same God who gave him life could also give Isaac life. When Abraham took Isaac up the mountain, he told his servants that "we" will return (Gen. 22:5); he did not expect Isaac to stay dead. As the story turns out, however, God provided a substitute sacrifice (just as he later provided his own Son as a substitute for us).

How far can your faith be stretched? Faith is indeed the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen (Heb 11:1). We are justified unto righteousness by faith and not by works. "And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God" (Jas 2:23). Because of his strong faith in God, Jesus referred to him most in his teachings than any other biblical icon of faith. Every believer should strive to be the friend of God as Abraham was. Only believe.