At first reading it seems as if today’s text is all about Abram’s journey from relative obscurity to universal fame; from being a childless husband in a tiny and insignificant family to becoming the founding father of a great multitude of nations. Now what would it look like if we read this story with God as the main character? What would it look like if we examined the text from the perspective of God’s initiating action instead of Abram’s immediate faithful response? After all, it’s pretty intimidating to try to compare our own somewhat tenuous faith to the unquestioning faithfulness of a religious superhero.

Let’s look at what God does for Abram and really for us as well. God enters an aging, aimless, and barren existence; one whose pattern seems set; whose future is inevitably establi…