Devotion 

Abraham is Father of All

Frances Taylor 

There are questions in every age about the importance of the Old Testament for Christians. Abraham is considered to be the Father of Faith for Jews, Christians and Muslims. We forget that it was Abraham who believed in the doctrine of only one God. It is through him and his descendants that this tradition comes down to us. Another fact that we can overlook is that Jesus was Jewish. He was born a Jew, lived as a Jew, died, rose and ascended into heaven as a Jew. Because we believe that he was the Messiah, the Christ, and we follow him, we are called Christian. Without the Old Testament, we wouldn't understand the promise of salvation; we wouldn't understand why it was important for Jesus to be of the family of King David. We would not understand his teaching either, because Jesus quoted from Scripture – the Old Testament – frequently. He told us that he came to fulfill the Scriptures, not to abolish them. In the same way, we can understand the Old Testament better because we have the New Testament to guide us and give us a new interpretation which Jesus provides through his teachings. Two examples of this are his comments on the sinfulness of anger in addition to murder and of lust in addition to adultery. I feel a great deal of gratitude that Abraham had enough faith in God that he was willing to follow where God led, and so lead us to God.

Prayer 

Almighty God, thank you for giving Abraham the courage to follow you and thereby to become our Father in Faith. Please give us the strength we need to go wherever you lead us. Amen.