Genesis 12:1-9 [NLTse]
1 The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on Earth will be blessed through you.”
4 So Abram departed as the LORD had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5 He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth—his livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran—and headed for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in Canaan, 6 Abram traveled through the land as far as Shechem. There he set up camp beside the oak of Moreh. At that time, the area was inhabited by Canaanites.
7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the LORD, Who had appeared to him. 8 After that, Abram traveled south and set up camp in the hill country, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built another altar and dedicated it to the LORD, and he worshiped the LORD. 9 Then Abram continued traveling south by stages toward the Negev.
God invited Abraham to join Him on an adventure! The Lord didn’t tell Abraham where he would be going; only that he would need to leave his home, never to return; leave his friends, neighbors, and relatives, never to see them again; and go, where? The Lord never said. He never gave Abraham any region or directions for forwarding mail or carepackages. He simply said, “I’m taking you to a land that I will show you.”
God told Abraham, “Leave everything you’ve ever known behind, follow Me, and I’ll let you know when we get there.”
I know it’s a difficult question to ask (because how can anyone really know), but, if the Lord called you on an adventure, do you think you would go with Him? … For those of you who honestly said, “No”: Would you like to have the kind of faith to perhaps go with Him on an adventure one of these days?
I ask because I believe the Lord is calling all of us to join Him on an adventure. This-coming Wednesday is Ash Wednesday. It is the beginning of the church-season of Lent. Lent is made up of the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. (Although the Sundays aren’t included in the count.) During Lent the weather gets warmer and daylight-hours lengthen, which is Lent gets its name, from “lengthening”.)
For the past fifteen centuries or more various Christians have celebrated Lent with some sort of fasting or self-sacrifice. Fasting is the practice of abstaining from food for a period of time – only drinking water. But other self-denial observances have also been practiced during Lent: Not eating chocolate is kind of a funny one (as though denying yourself chocolate were some great sacrifice); not watching TV is another (again, hardly a sacrifice, but a difficult practice to break for many modern people); some have abstained from eating meat; others have given up drinking coffee or soda; others have given up smoking or drinking alcohol or some other excessive behaviors. (Again, hardly a sacrifice, since such excesses aren’t good for us to begin with, but, again, they can be very difficult habits to break when they’ve become extreme.)
As I said, I believe the Lord is calling us to join Him on an adventure today. I believe our Lord Jesus Christ is calling us to fast from our entertainments, our hobbies, and all our leisure-activities throughout the 40 days of Lent. Yes, I believe our Lord Jesus Christ is calling us to fast from our entertainments, our hobbies, and all our leisure-activities throughout the 40 days of Lent.
Now you may be asking, “Why would we want to do that? What’s wrong with watching TV or reading to relax at the end of the day? What’s wrong with hanging out and chilling to music or reading a magazine or surfing around the internet or hanging out on Facebook? And didn’t God gift me to be able to do and enjoy my hobbies?”
Of course there’s nothing categorically wrong with any of these pursuits. And yet the truth is that, for many of us, they occupy way too much of our time. Our technological advances here in the West have given us more comfort and free time than any other generation that’s ever lived on the face of the Earth. And many have filled that free time with entertainments and amusements and distractions. Have you ever wondered whether we’re maybe entertaining and distracting ourselves to death?
Again, I believe our Lord Jesus Christ is calling us to fast from our entertainments, our hobbies, and our leisure-activities throughout these 40 upcoming-days of Lent.
Let me paint you a picture: I’m home and I don’t have any commitments. I’m feeling a little itchy to do something, so I ask myself, “What can I do?” And with that question comes all manner of enjoyable, time-filling pursuits. Not all of them are necessarily sinful, and yet not all of them necessarily glorify God (in and of themselves), either.
Now, I’m not talking about doing chores or work that needs doing around the house (although we can be excessive about those kinds of activities, as well). And I’m not talking about activities that strengthen our marriages or families or other relationships, like playing games together or working on various crafts or projects together (although those pursuits can, in reality, not be about building relationships but just being entertained together).
Here’s another picture I have with the 40 days of Lent in mind: I’m home and I don’t have any commitments. I’m feeling a little itchy to do something, so I ask God, “What can I do for You?” And the answers we might get when asking that questions are what I believe the Lord is calling us to throughout these 40 days of Lent! Because it’s one thing to pursue our hobbies for our own enjoyment and entertainment, it is something else entirely to pursue those same hobbies in ways that glorify God and bless others. Can you make crafts that point to Christ and the good news of our faith and give them to others? Can you hunt and give the portions you don’t need to others as a gift to them from Jesus? Can you search the internet for Bible Studies and make plans to start one in your home?
Of course, there are pursuits we’re going to have to give up for these 40 days. For instance, I like to read, especially Christian or fantasy-adventure fiction. I like good writing and good stories. It’s a way I “unplug” and also connect with my kids since they’re usually reading the same books I am.
But this past-time is going to have to go during this-coming Lent, because I believe our Lord Jesus Christ is calling us to fast from our entertainments, our hobbies, and our leisure-activities throughout the 40 days of Lent. Perhaps I’ll replace some of that reading by reading books that would benefit church-life here, or with some reading about spiritual disciplines or other areas of discipleship for myself and/or my family. But I also think the Lord might call me to read the Bible more, enjoy Him and talk with Him in prayer more, spend more time reaching out to family members and folks I’ve fallen out of touch with and others around our church or community through email or personal notes. Having to spend more time romancing my wife and nurturing my relationships with my children (and I say “having to” because I won’t be distracted by my habitual entertainments and I’ll be looking for something to do!) I’m sure the Lord will also lead me to get some projects done around our house that have dragged on. (I can also imagine that might double as a way to romance my wife, since she can get quietly frustrated when I let such things go! J)
How about you?
I’m not trying to say there’s some great biblical reason that we must do this together (other than because I believe God is calling us to do so). And I’m not trying to guilt you into it as though you would be acting unfaithfully to God if you do not. No. But I do believe that, like Abraham, the Lord is inviting us to take a journey with Him: For us to retreat together from our entertainments, hobbies, and leisure-pursuits across these next 40 days. To see what our lives could be like if we intentionally filled our time with activities we know God wants for us, but that we don’t seem to have time for, and with activities that boldly serve others and share Christ with those around us.
Our Father promised Abraham great blessings if he would go. I believe the Lord has great blessings in store for us, and for others through us, as we go.
We’ll be taking some time during Worship each week across Lent to share how and where He’s been leading us. Will you join me?