The Impossible Call

Reflection on Genesis 15:1-6

1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” 4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

No. Way. That's what we used to say as kids to anything that seemed impossible to us. Sometimes you might even put a rude word between the 'no' and the 'way'. There is no way that could be true. There is no way that could happen.

That's what Abram is saying in this story. When God says 'I am your shield, your reward shall be very great', God is promising Abram a family, even though he and his wife Sarai, are way past child-bearing age. Abram doesn't believe God, he doesn't see how it can happen. So, he says to God, 'No way. That's impossible.'

When I believe there is no way, I start looking for another way - a way that makes sense to me, a way that works, a way I'm familiar with. And that's what Abram does. He offers God a way out of impossible. He finds an alternative. Maybe Abram doesn't have a kid. Maybe his servant has a kid and it 'metaphorically' works. But Abram is just grasping at straws at this point.

Before Abram can believe, he wants... no... he needs more details. He needs to know the way. 'What are you talking about?' he says to God. You talk about reward, and I have no idea what you can even offer me. So, God takes Abram outside, shows him the stars and tells him that his promise is even bigger than Abram thought. There is no explanation, no how, no 'here is the way'. There is just a repetition of the promise.

Back when I was a kid, if someone said 'No Way', there was only one response. 'Way!' God says 'way'. God specializes in the impossible - new life, new faith, new hope, new creation. He's "the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not." (Romans 4:17)