Father Abraham has many sons, many sons has Father Abraham, I am one of them and so are you, so let us praise the Lord.
This song if available at that time would have been the top song on the playlist of the Scribes and the Pharisees. They wore their identity as sons of Abraham on their sleeves. This song they sang was probably a sweet melody for many except one, our Lord Jesus Christ.
In this particular instance, Jesus had an encounter with the Pharisees (John 8). During the course of the conversation, the Pharisees insisted that they are children of Abraham despite not wanting to believe the testimony of Jesus. So they wanted to plaster an identity on themselves but not embrace the actual actions / attributes that the claim portends.
Jesus responding to them, said that being a son of Abraham is not just the most hearted song on your Playlist, or a chant to throw around. Jesus was saying to the Pharisees, if you are a son of Abraham, do the works of Abraham. This encounter is more instructive because of the calibre of people Jesus was speaking to, they were the Scribes and the Pharisees, the custodians of the law. They could reel out the Torah and cross reference scriptures, but Jesus’ testimony about them evidenced their inability to deconstruct that same law into a lifestyle of faith.
The question one then asks is what are the works of Abraham and how did Jesus arrive at that conclusion. Jesus based his conclusions on the quality of their belief and the extent of the place the Word of God has in their hearts. These two things are in effect very crucial underpins of a profession of faith and the conversion of such professions into a life of faith.
- The quality of your belief; Abram believed God’s testimony and went ahead to execute a change of name certificate on the basis of a word from God. Further, he believed God to do what he has never seen done before and was willing to sacrifice his son on the premise that God can raise him from the dead. The quality of your belief shows in the extent of your God-ward actions.
2. Giving the Word place in your heart; This speaks to allowing the hammer of the Word of God crush our biases, our premonitions, and faulty mindsets that act as stumbling blocks to fruit bearing. The Word of God always comes with surgical tools to remove misaligned thoughts and install aligned thoughts. The heart that doesn’t give place to the Word of God is akin to the heart that receives seed among the thorns which choke the Word whether they be cares of this world, or the deceitfulness of riches.
Our works and not just our words are the primary and principal evidences of our faith. Apostle James alludes to this when he said faith without works is dead. A faith that partners with works is a faith that can be shown.
The bible tells us that if we are “of faith” then we are indeed children of Abraham. So we take a leaf from Jesus’ encounters with the Pharisees that it’s never just about singing the song about being Father Abraham’s sons and daughters, a faith that is alive is a faith that sings the songs and dances to the tunes.
As you go into this week, keep in step! Beyond knowing the Law, believe the Word and allow the Word of God have it’s place in you, allow yourself be guided, instructed in accordance to the Word.
Have a blessed week ahead
For His glory and His renown,
Olayinka Adebayo
IG/Twitter: layinkadebayo