Now [in Haran] the Lord said to Abram, Go for yourself [for your own advantage] away from your country, from your relatives and your father’s house, to the land that I will show you. – Genesis 12:1, Amplified Bible (AMP)

In Matthew 12:25, Jesus taught us that a house divided against itself cannot stand. When we divide our loyalties between God’s heavenly purposes and our earthly ones, our work for God will suffer, and the rewards we will earn in heaven for our service on Earth will be few.

Most of the time, our own self-interest draws our attention to earthly concerns. But, every now and then, our self-interest doesn’t generate our divided loyalties; our family and friends do.  Ready to throw human caution to the wind, we lift our foot to take the first step down the path God has identified for us. Before our foot hits the ground, however, our loved ones pull us back, bringing to our attention some urgent need that we alone can fill. Once fulfilled, we turn again to walk God’s path, but time after time our loved ones stop us and beckon us to do this or to do that, or to consider this or to consider that. Before long, we’ve been delayed so much that life has passed us by, the entrance to God’s path riddled with cobwebs due to our disobedient neglect.

Although it does hurt to leave loved ones behind, God sometimes requires us to move away from our family and friends so that they are no longer impediments to His work. Free from the day-to-day pressures placed upon us by our loved ones, we can turn our undivided attention to the work that God has told us to do. Such a move will be to our advantage, for when we replace divided loyalties with total dedication to God, we will replace frustration with peace, we will see exciting triumphs in our work for Christ, and we will earn more and more crowns in heaven to cast at our Savior’s feet.

God does not call every Christian away from his or her loved ones. But if He calls you away, you will know it, for He will call you as clearly as He did Abraham. Then your challenge will be to follow Abraham’s lead in obeying the call, and if you want God’s best for your life, you must indeed obey.

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