TAKING THE LONG VIEW

"The Path" Chapter 3: The Ancestor of a Multitude

For reading and reflection the week of Oct 15-21, 2018

With all the commercial services being offered to help you trace your family lines, or have your DNA analyzed, it's become quite popular for many people to dig into finding out "where they came from" and "who they are." Are they related to someone from the past who was/is famous? Are the oral family histories and traditions actually true? 

While such pursuits are relatively harmless (unless, of course, you have to endure countless antidotes about a friend's lofty family tree), they are also backward looking. They speak more to the lives of others and not to our own present state of life. They don't help us know where we are going, and they lack any promise of the future. Essentially, looking to past is about discovering facts, while looking to the future is about faith.

The story of Abraham is a story about faith; about listening to God and moving forward, not back; about trusting in God that there will be a fulfillment of what God promises. The multitude lies ahead, and while we may not get to experience it on a grand scale, we rejoice for the part we're allowed to play.