"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
After the great flood of Noah's day that wiped out all but eight of the human population, people began to once again increase. They spread across the world, forming their own countries and customs and carving out homes for themselves. Families often stuck together, seeking security in numbers.
But God had special plans for one man. Abram, an aging man with no heir, received a call from God to leave his home, his family, and everything he knew and go to a place that God would show him.
And Abram went. With his wife, his nephew, his servants, and his possessions, he left his homeland and set out for an unknown land. God hadn't given him any directions. He just told him to go. Abram had to trust that God would tell him when he'd reached the land of promise.
We know Abram better as Abraham. Often referred to as the father of faith, his entire life speaks of intense devotion to God. He believed that God would do as He had promised, even before he had seen God prove His trustworthiness. That one step of faith set him on a course that would change not only his life but the entire world.
Because Abraham obeyed God, he became the recipient of God's special blessings. The Savior promised to Adam and Eve so long ago would come through his line. His descendants would be great, and from them would come one who would bless the whole world.
And it all started with a venture into the unknown.
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