Main news for 19 June 2018

What is the first thing we remember about Abraham? That he "believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness." "Believed" in this case does not mean anything light or simple. Abraham's faith is labor and spiritual struggle. He gathered his family and went where God called him. No one could stop him, and he listened to no one. He believed God so much that he was ready to sacrifice his only son. He received God in his house; he was the first to experience communion with the Trinity. And all this happened to him not because he was righteous in himself. On the contrary, he was sinful, and the Bible describes not only his faith, but also everything that in no way fits with it. But Abraham's righteousness was not the fulfillment of all ritual prescriptions, but unconditional trust. Paul calls believers sons of Abraham. Not distant descendants, but the next generation. This means that we inherit Abraham's main traits if we believe. Yes, sin is still strong in us. But faith in God, whom we serve, for whose sake each time we fall we rise again, with whom we continue to live, this very faith will become our justification.