Change of Address

Anyone who has had to move before, especially out of state, knows all the big and little things that must be done. This past week I spent a number of hours on the phone with about a dozen different businesses notifying them of our upcoming change of address. Of course, as it often goes with those sort of phone calls you have to endure the automated service before you actually speak to someone with a pulse. And then, you may spend the next thirty minutes just trying to understand one another because English is not their spoken language. Boy, was that a fun day. 

In spite of how difficult it is to pack up all your earthly possessions, leave family and friends, and start all over somewhere else, at least we know where we’re going. You see, Abraham did not know, at least initially, his change of address. God simply instructed him to: “Get of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8). 

Can you imagine doing such a thing? Have you ever moved a great distance with your family not having a clue as to where you would resettle? Abraham did - evidently with no questions asked. You want to talk about faith - real faith - take a good, hard look at Abraham. You want to have a better understanding of what obedience is all about - then study this man’s life (Hebrews 11:8-10, 17-19). Abraham’s unquestioned obedience to God when told to relocate, initially not knowing where, should inspire us to obey God in the relatively simple things He has commanded us.

Abraham was called the “friend of God” (James 2:23) because of his obedience to God. What about us? Could God call us His friend, based on our track record of obedient faith? Well, let’s get a little more specific.

• When God commands saints not to forsake the assemblies (Hebrews 10:24-25), do we obey Him without question?

• When the Lord gave the command to “go” teach the lost the gospel (Mark 16:15, 16), do we go out or stay home?

• When the Holy Spirit directs a local church to withdraw from the disorderly (2 Thess. 3:6), do we obey or disobey?

• When the doctrine of Christ instructs us to identify false teachers and avoid them (Romans 16:17), do we listen or stop up our ears?

• When God tells us to restore the wayward Christian (Gal. 6:1; James 5:19-20), do we put forth any effort to do so, or simply excuse ourselves from this urgent duty?

Would God call us His friend? Well, do we obey Him in all that He says? Surely if Abraham could obey God’s command pertaining to his “change of address,” then surely we can obey the commands of God today (I John 5:3) without any hesitation.

Blessed is the man who listens to me,
Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at the posts of my doors.
- Proverbs 8:34

Before You Say I Do
By H. Norman Wright
& Wes Roberts