As believers, we will inevitably face a hardship or a trial in our life/faith. Throughout our biblical texts, we have language about continuing in our faith and preserving through these trials. What I want to address today is the question of, “What do we do when we find ourselves at a crossroads of belief.”
Do we believe like we say we do? Do we fall away when faced with a question from a nonbeliever? Does that university class make us abandon our beliefs? Does the break up break my faith? For some, life and its hardships cause a falling away. For others, they will keep going. This message is for those who aren’t sure if they want to continue in faith or go a different direction.
If you are struggling with your faith I pray that you keep going. That you keep fighting the good fight. I pray your faith leads to a perseverance that exemplifies genuine faith. If you know someone who is struggling then make sure to be the person that is willing to leave your 99 brothers & sisters and go get that one brother/sister.
“God loves those who finish their race”
So where is this message going or how did it start? Well, I was eating dinner with a pastor and we were talking about how people fall away from the faith. Some acquire knowledge and walk away. Some people encounter a trial and stop pursuing God. Some end up choosing their former sins over the goodness of God (Side note, I don’t exist outside of time so God may have a long-term plan for those individuals).
As we were talking the pastor said, “God loves those who finish.” I asked what he meant and like a pastor, he asked another question. He said, “Did you know that Terah might have been called before Abraham?” Of course, I had to entertain this so I asked him to explain. We opened up our Bibles to Genesis 11:27-32.
“Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot. Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans. And Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah. Now Sarai was barren; she had no child. Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there. The days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran.” – Gen 11:27-32
I was shocked but he said, “Notice that Terah started to head to the promised land in Canaan for some reason, but halfway through the journey he stopped in Haran and never finished.” He then asked if we knew the meaning of Haran. According to most bible dictionaries, Haran means ‘parched’ or ‘road’. Most translate this as a specific type of road. It would be a crossroads. In fact, the city of Haran was a trading crossroads for many people groups.
So, Terah stopped at a crossroads and didn’t choose to continue. However, when Abraham was called in, Genesis Chapter 12, he would complete his race in faith to Canaan. This would later lead to him becoming the patriarch of the Jewish faith (Gen 12:6-7).
The pastor said Abram is a name we know. However, no one talks about Terah, because Terah didn’t finish his race. Of course, as I chewed on these words I realized there are many Terah’s. Many when at a crossroads don’t continue to the promise. Thinking about this brought me to mediate on two verses from the Parable of the Sower.
“As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.” – Matthew 13:20-23
How many start their journey, but don’t continue? How many walk away on account of tribulation? How many decide riches and comfort are better than the promise of everlasting life? The sad answer is many! Whether Terah was called or not he didn’t make it to Canaan. Imagine if Abraham didn’t leave Haran? He would have missed out on being the patriarch of our faith. Imagine all of those who have been blessed by his faithfulness! Imagine in your life who you may touch by being faithful. Imagine for a moment what you could be missing out on! Is it really worth it to stop a crossroads? I believe the answer is no.
Quick Counter Thought
I do want to stop for a moment and say that, in the New Testament, we have some added context to Abraham’s calling. The below quote was from a disciple and an early church leader named Stephen. As Stephen is brought before the leaders of Israel for believing in Jesus he testifies to how Israel has always resisted God seeking after their own ways. Stephen starts with Abraham to build his case to talk about Moses and how the people resisted Moses and sought idols. The beauty of the below quote is that the Holy Spirit working through Stephen is helping us to understand more about the call of Abraham.
“Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living.“ – Acts 7:2-4
What this passage reveals is that Abraham received the call before the family packed up and headed toward Canaan. For whatever reason the family stopped in Haran. That reason is unknown to us, but we do know that Abraham did not stay in Haran.
So, Terah starts a journey to head to Canaan, but he never makes it. Abraham, however, was willing to continue to Canaan after living in Haran for a significant portion of his life. Abraham had faith in God’s call and did not let familiarity and geography stop him from the calling. In doing so he made it to the promised land.
This passage from the New Testament is important to bring up. This is because oftentimes scripture will guide us to an answer. It is also important to not go beyond what is written (1 Corinthians 4:6). With that being said we don’t know if Terah was called, but we do know Abraham was and he made it to the promised land.
Terah stopped, but Abraham persevered
So, if you find yourself at a crossroads I encourage you to be like Abraham. I pray that you finish your race. You should realize that the journey is hard and that you will stumble. In fact, Abraham stumbled many times. He lied in several situations and had a child outside of his marriage (Gen 12:10-20 & Gen 16:1-15). Despite this, he was always faithful to God. He was flawed, but he trusted God and was even willing to sacrifice his only son Issac (Gen 22:1-19) It is through faith Abraham was made righteous before God and became the forefather of our faith (Romans 4:3).
You may slip along the path. You may make the wrong choice on occasion, but God is for you. Let the testing of your faith prove that your faith is genuine (1 Pt 1:6-9). I will leave you with one last verse. Please continue to fight the good fight and achieve that crown of righteousness!
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” – 2 Timothy 4:7-8
