“God told him, ‘Leave your native land and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.’”
Acts 7:3 (NLT)
Stephen is standing in front of the high council, the Sanhedrin, and they ask him if the accusations are true. But when he opens his mouth, it’s not really a reply—it’s a sermon. The common man is teaching the teachers. And the first place he takes them is Abraham: the glorious God appeared to him, spoke to him, and called him to leave his home and his family.
And Abraham obeys immediately. There’s no gap between God appearing, God speaking, and Abraham moving. He doesn’t wrestle with it. He doesn’t wait for a different answer. He doesn’t pray about it until it feels safer. He doesn’t go get counseling about whether it’s wise. God speaks, and Abraham does what God asked.
But what grips me most is the wording of the call: “come into the land that I will show you.” Not “go,” like God is behind him, pushing him out the door. It’s “come.” God is out ahead of Abraham, facing him. I can see it like a dad standing in the distance, knees bent, arms out, a big smile on his face—waiting for his son to come. That’s the language. God is saying, come to me. I’ll show you. Just follow me.
I think I’ve lived like the roles are reversed—like I’m out ahead, and God is behind me with reins or a leash, having to pull me back and redirect every little step. Like a dog or oxen or a horse that has to be guided and pushed and corrected. That’s the kind of God the council believed in—religion that keeps distance, a God behind you, kicking and whipping and yanking on your neck, pulling a bit in your mouth. But that’s not the kind of God we serve. He’s a good Father out in front of you, eyes locked with yours, moving ever so slightly left or right to steer you, expecting you to do the moving with the strength, wisdom, and power he planted in you. He isn’t prodding you from behind—he’s out ahead, smiling, with open arms, saying, “Come to daddy!”
So today, do you need to come to God? Do you need to let him show you? And do you need to stop acting like the high council—letting religion create distance between you and your Heavenly Father?