What's hard on you might be meaningful to god

Abram sat in the corner rocking in his favorite rocking chair. He heard a knock at the door. He willed his 75-year-old body out of the chair, walked to the front door, and opened it. He did not recognize the man standing on the other side.

Hello, I am God, the man said.

God? – Abram repeated.

Yes, God. I’m here to tell you to “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.”

Then God turned and walked away. After a few steps, he turned around and looked at Abram, who was still standing a bit puzzled and lost in the doorway. Then God told Abram, oh, by the way, I’m going to change your name to Abraham. I know it’s not as easy to say, but it has more meaning.

See you soon.

Obviously, that’s not exactly how the story unfolded in the bible, but sometimes it’s easier for me to understand stories like Abram’s by playing it out in my own head with my own characters. I think God gets it.

Abram listened to God in Genesis. He got up from his life and responded just like God had asked. I wonder if God wasn’t really telling Abram, hey, it’s time to quit looking for the easy retirement life and it’s time to start chasing a life of meaning. If you know the rest of the story, Abram got up from that chair and became one of the fathers of our Christian faith. A relative unknown turned to forever known.

In the bible it says simply that Abram went as God told him. I mean, really? Didn’t he sit around and think about it? Didn’t he think of all the reasons it couldn’t be done. Didn’t he let the daunting nature of it, all the sacrifice, at least try to talk him out of this vision and purpose God gave him?

Maybe that is why he was Abram turned Abraham and I am Keith still Keith. Because I too often consider how hard things are going to be instead of how meaningful they will be to God and the people around me. Maybe because I too often consider what will be the most comfortable thing to pull off in this world and not what will be the most meaningful thing to pursue in God’s world.

I think God is knocking on all our doors today. Maybe some of us will hear it, maybe some of us will have Netflix turned up too loud. But I do think God wants to greet us all at that door. He wants to give us all new names. He wants to give us names that say we are adding meaning to this world, not names that suggest we are looking for the easiest path through it.