Being yourself

[The Lord] took [Abram] outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” 

Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. --Genesis 15:5-6

Sometimes we, as Christ-followers, can have a tendency to slough off the Old Testament as somehow less important than the New Testament. But that act denies the very heritage of Jesus, who was himself born into the Jewish culture. 

So be very careful about doing that. Instead, try taking a closer look and seeing what's there.

In this short pair of verses, I see two things:

First, Abram believed God. It does not say he believed in God (although he did; in those times, God truly dwelt among his people). It does not say Abram followed a certain doctrine or belief system.

No. It says that in this instance, when God lovingly invited Abram to lift his eyes and try-- just try to count the stars and imagine having even greater numbers of offspring than these, Abram remembered times in the past when God had been faithful and kept his promises, and he believed that the Lord would again be faithful. Based on his past experience, Abram knew.

That was his part of the bargain: believing the Lord.

* * * * *

Then comes that church word: righteousness. Ugh. Church-speak can be challenging to pin down and define, even for those of us raised in the church.

Believe me, I try. But there are two church words that I somehow know what they mean, but please don't ask me to explain them. Holy is one; righteous is the other.

So I looked up the one we are talking about here, righteousness. And the Urban Dictionary (www.urbandictionary.com) gave me a definition that suddenly made sense.

Righteous. Anything that is amazing, awesome or cool.

In other words, in this encounter with God, Abram believed God-- and the Lord saw this as an awesome development.

Abram, created as a Child of the Most High, trusts fully in the One who created him. Believes his promises are true, because in the past the Most High has been true and faithful.

Awesome. Amazing. Exceptionally cool.

Go forth, today and every day, and believe God's promise for your life. 

And God will smile and declare you righteous. And awesome.

Awesome Creator, help us to see ourselves through your eyes, to remember your faithfulness in the past and know you will be faithful again. Amen