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A Few Thoughts About Ulysses, Tennyson, & the Faith of Abraham 

Did you take poetry when you were in school?  I never did take it…  but I wish I would have because the little poetry I’ve read since school is enough to convince me that I missed out on something very wonderful.  For example, Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem, Ulysses - ever read it? It’s a poem about an old man who comes to realize that the true meaning and purpose of life could never be found in seeking comfort and ease, retreating to restful and calm surroundings, and/or pursuing peaceful tranquility.  But as Ulysses discovered, true meaning and purpose could only be found as one boldly faced the struggles and challenges of life.

Armed with this realization Ulysses, despite his old age and his life of restful ease gathers up his sailors to push out once more into the great unknown.   Leaving the comfortable harbor of home behind him the old man Ulysses, turns to his fellow travelers and says: 

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“We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”

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 To my mind there is much in these words that is applicable to the biblical figure of Abraham. 

Like Ulysses, Abraham was an old man who set out on a journey.  Abraham's journey was the journey of faith and as he encountered difficulties along the way Abraham came to understand that these difficulties, faced in light of God's promises, actually worked to deepen his faith.

To put it differently the difficulties faced along the journey of faith are not calls to seek shelter or to turn the ship of our lives toward the safety of some lazy port.  On the contrary they are encouragements to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.  And as we journey on, facing various difficulties and challenges, like Abraham, we find that our faith, by God's grace is greatly strengthened.

Take sometime to learn about one of the great difficulties of Abraham's journey by clicking here.