Today’s Scripture reading: Psalm 78:1-39, Jeremiah 7:21-34, Romans 4:13-25, John 7:37-52

Today’s writer: Emily King

Most small children are ingrained with the song “Father Abraham” from the time we can learn catchy songs… “Father Abraham, had many sons; Many sons had Father Abraham.  I am one of them, and so are you, so let’s all praise the Lord!”  We probably never thought too much about the theology of this song, other than Abraham had many children and we moved our arms and legs around.  In reality, this simple song tells us about the legacy of faith we have from Abraham and that we truly should praise Him for this great ancestry.

The passage in Romans tells us that it was by no law or action that Abraham received the promise of being an “heir to the world,” but rather “through the righteousness that comes by faith.”  Because of his unwavering faith, God entrusted to him a great nation, and ultimately, the genealogy of Christ.

My favorite verses are 18-22.  Those verses tell of the steady faith that Abraham kept through a long life, a long struggle with desiring a child, difficulty with Sarah, his laughing wife, and yet his confidence that God “had power to do what he promised.”

This Lenten season I hope to continue to turn my focus to Jesus and now to Abraham and the legacy of faith that we have in him.  I pray that we can truly praise Him as we think about the magnitude of the faith from the generations past.