Reckoning Faithfulness – Genesis 15

A text – Genesis 15:1-6

15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”
15:2 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?”
15:3 And Abram said, “You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.”
15:4 But the word of the LORD came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.”
15:5 He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
15:6 And he believed the LORD; and the LORD reckoned it to him as righteousness.


A reflection:

God promised Abram the joy of an actual child of his own, and of an inheritance to pass down to his child, so that his descendants would number like the stars in the heavens. Abram was old and his wife could not have children, so this was indeed quite a thing for God to promise. And it was difficult to believe. And yet, Abram, who walked and talked with the Lord and who also argued with the Lord, Abram believed the promise. When Abram believed, God reckoned it to Abram as righteousness.

Reckoning is something we often do unconsciously, but it determines how much we trust in things or people enough to step out in faith. We “size up” something, we “look at all the angles,” and we “add things up,” and then we decide whether or not to act based on our reckoning. God wasn’t the only one in the relationship who was reckoning. Abram was doing it, too. Abram was deciding whether the Lord, who promised him a future, a descendant from his own body, was going to deliver on that promise.

God reckoned Abram to be trusting and trustworthy enough in their relationship to believe the promise. Abram reckoned God to be trusting and trustworthy enough in their relationship to keep the promise.

God has made us promises, too. How faithful do you reckon God has been? How trustworthy? And how much does God love you to make wonderful promises to you, even without your thinking about God? If you reckon God to be faithful, God will reckon you to be faithful, too.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you making and keeping your promises to us. Help us to believe them and trust in you.  Amen.