The Unknown
1 Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 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. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." 4a So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. (Genesis 12:1-4a)
God called Abram - out of the blue, as far as we know - to leave home and go to an unknown place, a place that God would make known to him...eventually. So Abram went, and took his wife Sarai and nephew Lot, with him. It's difficult to imagine just getting up and going without a destination in mind today, and it was even more unthinkable in Abram's time. To leave family was to leave protection and security.
Nicodemus also left safety and security to seek out Jesus. Under the cover of darkness, he snuck away from the pharisaic enclave to try to discover the truth - to learn if Jesus was the messiah or just another prophet. Nicodemus was baffled by the concept of being born anew, and by the end of their conversation we have no indication that Nicodemus is any closer to understanding or accepting who Jesus is.
Abram - whom God would rename Abraham - had many stumbling blocks on his journey. He would lie to protect himself and he would distrust God's promise, but eventually he came to trust God and to see the son God promised him. When we see Nicodemus again in scripture he is pleading for a fair trial for Jesus before the Sanhedrin, and finally he accompanied Joseph of Arimathea to prepare Jesus' body after the crucifixion.
The path of faith is, by definition, an unknown road, but we have the stories of other dubiously faithful followers to remind us of God's steadfastness and patience. May we walk, sure-footed, on this uncertain road - trusting God's goodness and grace.
1 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2 He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God." 3 Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above." 4 Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?" (John 3:1-4)
