Read: Romans 4:13-25

“(Abraham) grew strong in his faith … being fully convinced God was able to perform what he promised.” – Romans 4:20b

I went to seminary wondering how and why God would bother “calling” me to do such a thing – to become a priest. I had prayed the “sinners’ prayer” years earlier; I had been baptized and confirmed; I had been a faithful church member for most of my young life, except for my time when I had to work Sundays as a police officer in Spokane. I’d paid my taxes and led a relatively moral life (“relative” being a key component to my self-understanding), yet I never felt genuine in my faith. I never felt holy. I knew the word “sin” meant to fall short of the mark, and I knew I’d fallen short of the mark in many areas of my life. So why on earth would God call me?

Then I went to seminary and caught sight of something I’d never really understood before, that our faith isn’t about what we say, do, or believe (although those are part of the story, to be sure); it is about the faithfulness of God. It is God who saves. It is God who heals. It is God who cleanses. It is God who washes. It is God who fills with the Spirit. Everything we say, do, and believe flows from God. God acts and we respond. God has taken the burden of our salvation, the burden of our calling, upon God’s Self. All we do is say, “Oh, OK. Thanks. Duh. Good to know!”

Abraham trusted God; that’s all God asked of him and all God asks of us. That has given me hope to carry on as a Duh-sciple.

Dear God, I know you will give me the strength I need to get through whatever comes my way this day and week. Thank you for being here always, and for always being here. It is your faithfulness that gives me hope. Amen.
-Fr. Keith Axberg