Halfway or All the Way?

Halfway or All the Way?

In between the account of Noah and the extended biography of Abraham, the author of Genesis pauses to share a snapshot glimpse of Terah, the father of Abraham.

When Terah had lived 70 years, he fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot. Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans. And Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah. Now Sarai was barren; she had no child. Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there. The days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran.

Genesis 11:26-32

When I first looked at this story of Abraham’s father only going halfway on the journey to the promised land, I initially thought it was due to a lack of faith. Now I consider that it wasn’t a lack of faith; rather it was a case of misplaced faith.

And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods.’”

Joshua 24:2

From the account in Genesis, we learn that Terah and his family set out to go from Ur to Canaan, the promised land. But then, curiously, it says that they stopped halfway. If you look at a map of the desert between Babylon and Canaan, you’ll see that Haran is exactly halfway to the land he was heading to. It prompts the question, why did they stop? Reading on, we find that Terah’s son (and Abraham’s brother) died. Perhaps Terah stopped halfway because he succumbed to depression, anxiety, and fear. It’s possible that he became so focused on his grief and what he had lost he couldn’t look forward to God’s promise. Or perhaps he looked around and decided, you know, it looks pretty comfortable here. Maybe this is good enough.

Throughout his life, Abraham would have seen his own father worship false gods. We can also speculate that he learned of who God was through his father as well. What makes Abraham special is that he was willing to break the traditions and practices of his earthly father to follow his heavenly Father completely and wholeheartedly. He didn’t pursue God halfway. He chose to walk away from the comfort of the familiar for the promise of something even greater. If you want to break free of the cycles and curses of your past, you may have to be like Abraham and let go of the traditions, beliefs, opinions, and strategies of your parents first. Halfway isn’t good enough. It’s time to go all the way!

Hebrews 11:8 states, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.”

To receive a godly inheritance, you have to walk a different path than your ancestors. To receive a heavenly inheritance, you have to move in a different direction. You might be misunderstood by your family and you might be accused of turning your back on blood. You may even be called unspeakable names. Jesus was, too, but like Jesus, your family and the community you grew up in don’t have to like the path you’ve chosen to walk in for you to be anointed, called, effective, and validated by heaven. You may offend your family, coworkers, or others, but you have to choose whom you want to be in right standing with. Sometimes, being right with your family can mean being in wrong standing with God.

Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” We are transformed through the renewing of our minds. The Greek word used here is metamorphoō, which is where we get the word metamorphosis. A creature that has gone through this transformative process is completely unlike the creature it was before the change took place. There’s no such thing as a half-caterpillar, half-butterfly. It’s one or the other. The same is true when it comes to breaking free of our past. It’s an all-or-nothing decision; there is no halfway.

If we settle for religion and tradition instead of a passion-filled relationship with God, we settle for a life lacking in power. Like lukewarm water, it doesn’t refresh and doesn’t restore. “So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:16).

Being a compromised Christian is one of the most tormenting conditions. You neither receive the fleeting, temporary delight of gratifying your physical desires nor experience the elation and bliss from intimacy with the Holy Spirit. You are trapped between two worlds, and you are not a citizen of either one. You oscillate between condemnation and concession but never yield to true conviction. You cannot achieve the full thrill of sin because your conscience won’t remain completely silent. But your spirit man isn’t loud and bold enough to silence your carnal desires. In the end, you become double-minded and unstable in all of your ways. I see this too frequently in struggling believers.

There is much debate about the true meaning of this verse in Revelation, with some conjecture about the Laodicean region and springs that produced hot water or cold, serving as a source of either refreshing or restoring. Some scholars suggest that the water meeting in the middle was lukewarm, contaminated, and neither pleasurable to drink nor safe. What becomes very clear as you read the subsequent verses is that being lukewarm is to think that you are okay while remaining unaware of your true condition. “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked” (Revelations 3:17).

To experience complete and total freedom, you must be willing to finally be completely transparent. Self-deception is the act of holding false beliefs or distorting reality to maintain a positive self-image or avoid uncomfortable truths. It becomes easier to lie to ourselves than to deal with the repercussions of acknowledging the very things that we know are festering under the surface.

The number one way to break through self-deception is through radical honesty. This involves a sincere and unfiltered examination of your thoughts, emotions, and actions. Be brutally honest with yourself about your motives, desires, and areas where you may be deceiving yourself. Seek the truth, even if it’s uncomfortable, and confront the underlying issues that contribute to self-deception. Radical honesty can pave the way for self-awareness, self-deliverance, and a more authentic relationship with yourself, others, and God.

My dad had no faith to speak of. His gods were the bottle and his rage. The end result was a life of imprisonment—physically, mentally, and spiritually. Growing up, my mom had a measure of faith but not a transformative one. Like Terah, she only went halfway. Her fears resulted in unhappy marriages, a life of poverty, and years of uncertainty.

All or nothing. In or out. If we choose to walk the path of Abraham, we’ll still make mistakes, we’ll still have our moments of failure, but God will guide us into our place of purpose. If we choose the past of Terah, keeping one foot in each camp, we’ll end up missing out on what God purposed for us all along.

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Taken from Mike Signorelli’s Inherit Your Freedom: Break Generational Curses and Reclaim the Future God Has for You. Chosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group. © 2024. Used by permission.