Like Abraham and Sarah

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.””

Genesis 12:1 ESV

My younger sister moved overseas last week. She married a wonderful, godly man in early June, and he has felt lead to pursue a profession in medicine for quite some time, so they resigned from their jobs earlier this month, got rid of most of their personal belongings, and packed their bags to move to the foreign country where he will be studying this fall.

Not long before their departure, I asked my sister if she would have ever imagined her life to turn out like this, knowing full well what her answer would be. No, she could have never imagined these things. Our conversation reminded me of a blogpost I wrote several years ago, where I reminisced over some thoughts I wrote down as a single woman pondering what lengths I would go to in order to be with the man I loved. The truth is, we are willing to go to extremes for the sake of love, and she is living proof of that. But even more importantly, their shared love for God and a desire to do His will has caused them to take bold leaps of faith and to follow Him into the unknown, and they trust that His love for them will sustain them there.

I can’t help but think of Abraham and Sarah when I think of their situation. God told Abraham to leave his country, kindred, and father’s house and to go to the land where God would show him. Similarly, God has called my sister and her husband to leave their country, kindred, and father’s house, and although they knew where they would initially go, they must wait for God to show them the land where He will take them in the end—the place that they will call their home.

This chapter of their story is just beginning to unfold, of course. We have yet to see the script that God has already written for them in this current season. But I can’t help but think that their lives might mimic that of Sarah and Abraham’s also in that God may give them new identities as He further shows them their purposes along this path.

Back in the spring, I thought a lot about the story of the rich young ruler who asked Jesus what he must do to be saved. JJ applied for a position in Puerto Rico around that time, and we were considering the implications of such a move. Our situation felt like déjà vu since we had considered a move to the island a couple of years prior to this. The only difference was that there would be no withdrawing of JJ’s application this time around. We felt committed to moving to Puerto Rico this year if that was what God had in store for us, and considering the fact that I was in my third trimester and was excited about the possibility of such a move, I believed it really might be what God intended for us.

As I considered the possibility and looked around at all of our possessions, knowing we would have to get rid of most of them, I kept thinking of the story of the rich young ruler like I did when we first considered moving to the island. This time, however, I saw the story in a new light.

The story is as follows:

18 And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” 21 And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24 Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27 But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.””

Luke 18:18-27 ESV

I’ve understood for quite some time that Jesus was asking the rich younger ruler to sell everything he had and to follow Him because He did not want this young man to have any idols. None of us can truly follow Jesus with a divided heart.  But I realized something else as I thought of this story anew. Not only did Jesus want to rid this man of any idols, but He also wanted to rid him of a false sense of identity, ultimately offering this young man a new identity in Him.

My sister and brother-in-law have essentially accepted the offer that Jesus gave to that rich young ruler centuries ago. It’s not that their salvation is dependent on it, nor is their identity in Christ, as they already established these things in the moment that they came to faith in Him. Nonetheless, God has a way of giving us clarity in who we are in Him when all the “clutter” is taken away.

This couple has been stripped of their sense of identity at their former employments (and the financial security those jobs brought), their status as citizens, and any earthly possession that may have given them some sort of sense of self. But they have willingly done so to follow Him, and it is through that letting go that they will more deeply grasp ahold of who they are in Him and all that He has in store for them in this season of life. And quite frankly, I can’t wait to see what all that means for them in this journey.

23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”

Luke 9:23-24 ESV