“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously…and it shall be given to you.” James 1:5

A few months ago the night before an international conference for which I had numerous responsibilities, I went out for a late night walk around the hotel grounds. As I was praying and asking the Lord for wisdom, a dark shape skimmed over the surface of the pond and landed on the branch above my head. I was surprised to see an owl peering down at me in the midst of this Asian urban “jungle” of 8 million people. Still, I took it as a sign, that if “any of you lacks wisdom…it shall be given to you.”  He sat there for the next hour just above me.

The next night before leading the congregation in worship, I shared my owl story. After the service the General Manager and a few members of his staff met me in the lobby. The GM suddenly said, “I can see that God is really with you,” indicating he had been listening to my owl testimony. My curiosity tweaked, I proceeded to ask him and his staff if they had been employed at the hotel for long? Each of them had been there from periods of many months to several years. “Have you ever seen an owl here on the hotel grounds before?” Nope!

Three days ago I was out with the kids at a local park/reservoir. It had gotten dark, and as we were leaving we noticed something out of the ordinary in the road. To our surprise, we stopped to find it to be a small owl with an injured wing. So we decided to bring it home and nurse it back to health. Meet Harvey.

Beloved, these two incidents are not a coincidence. Hebrews 1:1 says God “at various times and in various ways” has always been speaking to His people. So what is He saying to us today? God is willing and waiting to give wisdom to anyone who asks. Sometimes He swoops down with a sudden rush of wisdom that comes to us when darkness surrounds us. Yes, sometimes it comes like a gift, or a thought, or a word. But beloved, He does not just want to stop there. He wants His wisdom to take up residence. Owl bet you hadn’t thought about that! Amen.

What kind of a person does God choose to use? Look no further than the man with whom God formed His covenant to bless all the families of the earth. What did He see in Abraham which solicited His attention and ultimately resulted in an unparalleled endorsement, the likes of which has never been seen among so many nations and over the expanse of millennia? One of the key indicators is found in the name that God gave him: Abraham, the father of nations.

Father here means more than simply the one who started something. God chooses words carefully. For in this case, father is not simply a title given by God; for in Abraham God was setting in place the most vital characteristic of how He builds His Kingdom. God builds through people who are a reflection of His Father heart.

At first glance, one might conclude that God just dropped His entire unconditional promise into his landmark agreement with Abraham. But God’s promise is not the same as a guarantee. Promise precipitates potential. It unlocks resources. Through promise, the thunder cloud of God’s abundant rain of supply and deluge moves into position over us. It is very likely that this same cloud had settled over Abraham’s own father, Terah. But the rain never came down on Terah. For although he “went out” from Ur, he never made it to the land of promise (Gen 11:31).

A more careful reading of the story of Abraham shows that God was not simply interested in finding someone through whom He could bless the earth. He was targeting someone with whom He could partner to bless the earth. There is a big difference. Abraham would not arise as a figurehead. God was not looking for someone on whom to hang a title, or pin a badge. He was searching for someone not simply by whom He would bless the nations, but through whom he could do it. And for this, He needed a father.

There are many examples of how God was proving and testing Abraham not only to be a father, but to become one; not only to have a child, but to raise an heir. We see how the extent to which God was going to bless Abraham grew as he submitted to God’s purposes, believed in His words, obeyed, and sacrificed. And so God did not institute a change in his name from Abram (Exalted Father) to Abraham (Father of Nations, or a Multitude) until thirteen years after the initial covenant. God appeared to him numerous times, and in each case, after another vital fathering principle had been exhibited or learned, the promise deepened, and his trust in Abraham grew:

“Arise, walk in the land…for I give it to you.” (13:17)
“When the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away…and they shall come out with great possessions.” (15:11,14)
“Walk before me, and be blameless…I will make you exceedingly fruitful…and kings shall come from you.” (17:1,6)
“Abraham went with them to send them on their way…Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing.” (18:16,17)
“Because you have done this thing…your descendants will possess the gate of their enemies.” (22:16,17)

Sarai too was barren for many years after the promise was given. Her name was changed too only after she had proven that she was not only ready to be a princess (Sarai), but to become a mother of nations (Sarah). Her heart had to be ready before her womb.

It is never promise alone which harnessed God’s greater blessings. In these days of sloppy agape, and easy grace, we have trumpeted the goodness of the God who promises, while neglecting the importance that our faithfulness and obedience plays in releasing the greater things He has prepared for us. We have misinterpreted His blessings as authorization, and in doing so we have glossed over our laziness and passivity rather than pursuing a diligent and excellent spirit. We may have begun well, like Terah who went out from his father’s house and journeyed towards the promise, but who found himself at the end of his life only half way there, living in tents in the town he named after his son who had passed away.

I don’t want to just be blessed; I want to be one through whom God can disburse His blessings. I don’t want to simply point to an abundance of clouds overhead; I want to get soaked. I don’t want to just see His Kingdom come; I want to hasten its coming. I don’t want to just be a good boy; I want to become a father whom God can trust with peoples, and nations. And so I am asking, Lord, not only that I become an heir of Abraham, but that I may walk in his steps, and wear his shoes. O God, make me a father! Amen.