Faith like Abraham

Studying the life of Abraham in the Bible is challenging. I began by considering the reflections of a first century writer on this man of great faith. The writer of Hebrews describes Abraham as one who met the challenge to believe in the impossible at a time when we would describe him as well past his prime. The description of Abraham in Hebrews 11 as one who was "as good as dead" has stuck in my mind. I realize that this description primariliy draws attention to the fact that he and Sarah were a little old to be having babies. However, I think the phrase is symbolic of every faith journey. Generally, we have good, sound, logical excuses why the faith journey won't work for us. We can convince ourselves and others that we just can't go where God wants us to go and be who God wants us to be. Our attitude reinforces our belief that God's plan is "as good as dead" in our lives. The message of Abraham's journey screams a very loud protest to that kind of thinking. Those attitudes are toxic to our faith.