It’s Never Too Late

Those of us who grew up in Sunday School know this biblical passage is about Abram/Abraham’s original calling. It’s part of that famous “Go from your country, your people, and your father’s household to the land I will show you” text: God inviting Abram to separate from his home and family and go off on a journey that will change not only him, but the entire world afterwards. God said, “I will bless you, make your name great, so that you will BE a blessing … and ALL the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”

It’s what we’d call finding a PURPOSE. And there are a couple of points that stand out here.

Part of the backstory is that Abram was one of the 3 sons of Terah, and Terah one day picked up his family and left their home city of Ur in Mesopotamia and headed to Canaan. But once they got about half way, to Haran (in modern day Turkey, just north of Syria), they stopped. They got comfortable, they settled in. In other words, they got distracted. Terah eventually dies there as an old man. And God then calls out Abram to resume that original journey. “Leave your father’s house and go…”

Life lesson: sometimes (most times), you gotta leave your place of comfort and set out on your own to make a life for yourself. It’s a reflection of the simple growth principle that “life happens outside your comfort zone.” But in terms of spirituality, it also reflects the truth that that “comfort zone” is not just friends, family and familiar places. It also refers to “old, familiar ways of thinking and doing things.” How many of us know so many Christians — people of generally good heart and strong faith — who just seem stuck? They haven’t grown much, their perspective of God and Reality, their perception of life and the world and other people around them, just hasn’t changed much since some remote conversion moment in the past. Like Terah, they had a moment of decision, they got excited, and they started out. But too quickly they found some place comfortable. And they stopped there.

And sadly, many, like Terah, will die there in their old age.

But the adventure wasn’t meant to end there. Sometimes — most times — you still gotta break away from the pack and strike out further on your own. Your growth, and the blessing that comes with it, almost always comes from individual pursuit.

“So Abram went …” And the world changed. He got to Canaan, had divine encounters along the way. Had two sons, each of whom would birth nations. Got rich, too (though that shouldn’t be your motivation!) And his name got changed in the process — that means a shift in identity, a shift in destiny. Abram was *changed* by the process. And the Abraham who reached Canaan and who had those further adventures was not the same Abram who’d left Ur decades earlier.

Here’s the point that grabbed my attention today. Abram was 75 when he set out on his own. Guess what? You’re never too old. It’s never too late. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been camped out in the familiar and comfortable territory with friends and family in your Haran. You’re not done yet — if you’re willing!

As I approach my 65th year on this planet, I’m acutely aware of who I am, and mindful of my as-of-yet unfulfilled spiritual dreams and aspirations. I’m painfully conscious of the gradual decline of my physical health. And I can be occasionally nostalgic for times passed. Overall, though, I’m pleased with my life as it’s been thus far. But, like Abram, I still feel a pull forward, an urge that says “there’s more, keep coming, don’t stop.”

I’m convinced there is still so much more to learn, to experience, and so many others we can help. God promised Abram that the end result of his journey would be not only a blessing for himself, but that he’d BE a blessing to the entire world. Maybe there are others waiting for you to continue on your journey too.