Genesis 12:1-9

Prior to this moment, Abram was merely a name on a listNow he becomes a person; he’s given an identity- he emerges from the genealogy into space and time• he has a history and he is given a destinywhere he is from and where he is going is what has defined him◦ where he is from: “your birthplace and your father’s house”◦ where he is going: “to the land that I will show you”• God is in the process of redefining Abram’s life◦ he will no longer be the person shaped by family history◦ he will become a person living in a covenant with God- normal course of a person’s life: grow up in family system• each person has there place and is assigned a role◦ this does not happen consciously,◦ it works itself out in interplay of each personality• psychology would encourage us to ask two questions:◦ how did I get were I am?◦ where do I go from here? and this may require that we escape from our family system or the neighborhood where we grew up