Abram put his faith in the Lord who credited it to him as an act of righteousness. Righteousness is simply being ‘right’ with God. It is the attitude of remaining in ‘right’ relationship with God. Abraham is presented to us as an individual who remained in right relationship with his God. It was something that was hinged upon his understanding of God. When God called (revealed the self to) Abraham, the two had not had any previous interactions whatsoever. It was a new experience for Abraham. He was not used to having a ‘conversation’ with a god. And as if that was not enough, the Lord went further to ask of Abraham something that was difficult to carry out: ‘Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and your father’s house to a land that I will show you’ (cf. Genesis 12:1ff). It was a request that was made even more unusual by the fact that it was made at the very beginning of a relationship. Abraham could have said no, but he chose to trust in the Lord. And it was the early establishment of trust in this relationship that made it special.
In today’s reading, we see Abraham, having become ‘friends’ with the Lord, wanting to know what God’s abundant blessing will mean for him given the fact that he is childless. ‘Of what benefit are your gifts to me if I have no one to share them with?’ he asks the Lord. The Lord understood Abraham’s concerns and he promised him descendants. Abraham knew that time was running out both for himself and his wife, but he believed the Lord. It was a move on Abraham’s part that helped cement the relationship between the two, making Abraham a model of living right with the Lord.
Abraham is given us as a model of righteous living, not because of what he did, but simply because of how he related to God. Even when Abraham had to ‘ask’ for more info from the Lord, he did not ‘question’ the ability of God to fulfill God’s promises. Abraham understood that even though God’s time is not our time, God’s time still remains the best time. How does my understanding of God affect my relationship with God?