Excerpt from Genesis 12: 1-3

"Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to a land that I will show you I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing."

Reflection by Ron Buford

I refuse to drive people places who won't tell me all the places we are going BEFORE leaving home. I hate crisscrossing town.

This trait, or flaw, depending on your perspective, always infuriated my Mom (whom we affectionately called Queen Dorothy behind her back).  This difference between us never made any sense to me until I read some things about patterns of difference (not universal by any means) between women and men. One pattern is that we guys can tend to be “hunter-gatherer” types, wanting to hunt it down, bag it, and bring it home. By contrast, women can tend to be more relationship-oriented, and, as it turns out, this was the case with Queen Dorothy, who was much more interested in spending time with me than in efficiently checking off tasks.

In this text, God gives Abram instructions, as did Queen Dorothy.

"Let's go," God says

"Go where?" I ask.

"To a land I will show you. Just start the car. And don't worry," God says. "As long as I'm in the car you're your car will run better than an electric car, plus you will be blessed and a blessing to the world . . . You got something better to do? . . . I didn't think so, just drive."

Today, God wants a ride. Take God with you. Go places you never dreamed. Enjoy the company.

Prayer

Gracious God, Let's have lunch while we're out . . .  on You! Amen.

About the Author Ron Buford, former coordinator of the UCC's God is still speaking campaign, consults with religious and nonprofit organizations, leads workshops, and preaches in churches across the U.S. and U.K. Ron also appears in the DVD-based progressive theology series, Living the Questions 2.0.

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